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POPULAR 

HISTORY OF AMERICA 



FROM THE 



Earliest Discoveries to the Present Time 

INCLUDINC} 

A COMPLETE ACCOUNT OF THE NORSEMEN ; THE MOUND-BUILDERS 

VOYAGES OF COLUMBUS; HARDSHIPS OF EARLY SETTLERS; FRENCH 

AND INDIAN WARS; THE STORY OF CANADA, 

MEXICO AND SOUTH AMERICA 

The Struggle for Liberty in the Revolution 

THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND; PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE 

UNITED STATES; THE GREAT CIVIL WAR AND THE 

LATEST EVENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

TOGETHER WITH 

A GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF CUBA AND HAWAII 

BY ^ 

HENRY DAVENPORT NORTHROP 

Author of " Story of the New World,'' "War iu Cuba," "Gem Cyclopedia," Etc., Etc. 



SUPERBLY EMBELLISHED WITH PHOTOTYPE AND WOOD ENGRAVINGS 



NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO., 

239, 241 AND 243 AMERICAN ST., 
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 

TWO Ctirli?S WtCCtVED 




^^^^6M:(? 



2132 







PREFACE. 



AYS the old Roman, Cicero: "Not to know what lias been trans- 
acted in former times, is to be always a child. If no use is 
made of the labors of past ages, the world must remain always 
in the infancy of knowledge.'' The same thought is well stated 
by an old English author : " History makes a young man to be 
old, without wrinkles or gray hairs, and gives him the experience of age, 
without the infirmities thereof" 

This is not placing too high a value upon history, as will be admitted 
by all intelligent persons. And what history can be more important and 
valuable than that of America? The very name awakens a thrill of patri- 
otic emotion. Her story is the most captivating ever written, and is an 
exhaustless source of instruction and entertainment. It should be familiar 
to both old and young, and may become so by a perusal of the compre- 
hensive volume prefaced by these lines. 

This work contains a full account of the Norsemen, the earliest dis- 
coverers of the Western world, and of the Mound-builders, the earliest in- 
habitants. It then takes up the story of Columbus — his long years of 
waiting and disappointment ; his successful appeal at last to the King and 
Queen of Spain; his tempestuous voyage, attended by dangers of the deep 
and mutiny on board; his heroic courage, his splendid reception on his 
return, and then the dark days and sorrowful death of the great discoverer. 
It treats of the settlement of America, and narrates the fascinating story 
of Captain John Smith and Pocahontas ; the attempts of the Indians to 
destro}^ the Colonies ; the disasters and sufferings encountered by the settlers. 
It details the persecutions of the Puritans in England, and their flight to 
Holland ; the storm-tossed " Mayflower " voyaging to the " wild New England 
coast;" King Philip's war; the history of witchcraft in Massachusetts — that 
strange craze which resulted in the death of many innocent persons ; the 
•colonization of Connecticut ; William Penn and the Quakers ; settlement of 
the Carolinas and Georgia. Step by step the book traces the growth of the 
Colonies, their hardships and dangers, and the frightful massacres by the 
Red Men. It gives a vivid picture of the heroism and sacrifices which laid 
the foundations of our Great Republic. 



vi PREFACE. 

A graphic account is given of that terrible ordeal through which the 
settlers passed, the French and Indian war, also of the uprising of an op- 
pressed people ; their heroic struggle for independence ; exciting scenes and 
progress of the war ; sufferings of the American army ; darkest daj^s of the 
conflict and final victory. Washington and his compeers stand out in bold 
relief and majestic proportions, as seen in the light of history. The war 
of 1812 with Great Britain and the Mexican war at a later period are fully 
related, and the growth of the nation is traced from small beginnings to its 
commanding position among the great and influential nations of the world. 

Then comes a stirring account of the great Civil War ; the attack on 
Fort Sumter ; the country aroused ; troops hurrying to the Capital ; opening 
events of the war in Virginia ; bloodshed in Missouri ; campaign in Ken- 
tucky and capture of Vicksburg ; battles of South Mountain, Antietam, and 
Gettysburg; Sheridan's raid; Sherman's great march to the sea; terrible 
battles in the Wilderness ; Grant before Richmond ; surrender of Lee's army 
and end of the great conflict. 

The history of this great struggle is the most wonderful narrative ever 
penned. It is the story of the sublimest heroism ever witnessed, of the 
most thrilling adventure, of the loftiest patriotism, and of the most inflexible 
courage and determination. It is a story that should ever remain fresh in 
the minds of the American people, and its glowing details should be trans- 
mitted by them to future generations with patriotic fidelity. 

All the events of our subsequent history are narrated, from the assas- 
sination of President Lincoln down to the present time, including the ad- 
ministrations of Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Cleveland, Harrison and McKinley. 

Not the least interesting part of this work is the account it furnishes 
of Alaska, the history of that vast territory, its natural characteristics, its 
scenes of grandeur as well as desolation, its native inhabitants and their 
traits, and the discovery of gold at Klondike. This is followed b}^ a most 
entertaining and instructive description of Mexico, that land of wonders, 
whose romantic history has an absorbing interest. 

The volume is also enriched with a concise history of Cuba, its great 
struggle for freedom, its past attempts to throw off the Spanish yoke, and 
the scenes of bloodshed and ravages of war which have reduced the Queen 
of the Antilles to poverty and desolation. 

The volume closes with very interesting information concerning Hawaii 
and the countries of South America. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

The Northmen 17 

CHAPTER 11. 
The Famous Mound-Builders 25 

CHAPTER III. 
Discovery of America by Columbus 30 

CHAPTER IV. 
Adventures of De Soto and Others 44 

CHAPTER V. 
Story of Sir Walter Raleigh , . . . . 62 

CHAPTER VI. 
Captain John Smith and Pocahontas 59 

CHAPTER VII. 
Story of the Virginia Colony 69 

CHAPTER VIII. 
The Settlement of Maryland 73 

CHAPTER IX. 
The Landing of the Pilgrims > 77 

CHAPTER X. 
King Philip's War 90 

vii 



^iii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XI. PAGE 

The Growing Nation • • • • 98 

CHAPTER XH. 
Pennsylvania and its Founder 107 

CHAPTER XHI. 
Witchcraft in New England 112 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Colonies on the Southern Coast 118 

CHAPTER XV. 
Story of Captain Kidd 124 

CHAPTER XVI. 
The French and Indian War 130 

CHAPTER XVII. 
The Story of Canada and Quebec 139 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Beginning of the American Revolution 152 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Progress of the War 1^3 

CHAPTER XX. 
The Americans Resolved to be Free 1*^6 

CHAPTER XXI. 
The Struggle for Liberty 189 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Battles and Sieges ° • • ^01 



CONTENTS. ix 

CHAPTER XXIII. PAGE 

Close of the War 218 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
The New Republic 229 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Outbreak of the Great Civil War 261 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Campaigns of McClellan and Lee 275 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
Important Union Successes 289 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Campaigns of Sherman and Grant 302 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
Battles on Land and Sea 317 

CHAPTER XXX. 
Surrender of the Confederate Army 327 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
Assassination of President Lincoln 337 

CHAPTER XXXII. 
Administration of President Grant 347 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 
Assassination of President Garfield 356 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 
Administration of Grover Cleveland 370 



X CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XXXV. age 

Administration of President Harrison 380 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 
President Cleveland's Second Term 390 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 
Inauguration of President McKinley 398 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
Alaska and Its Gold-Fields 405 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

Mexico and the Mexicans 416 

t 

CHAPTER XL. 

Cuba and Her Struggles for Freedom 436 

CHAPTER XLI. 
Story of Hawaii 463 

CHAPTER XLII. 
Countries of South America 475 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

Lief Eric— a Norse Sea-King 19 

Remarkable Mounds at Marietta, Ohio, 26 

Christopher Columbus, 31 

Columbus at the Monastery of La Rabida, 32 

Landing of Columbus on the Island of San Salvador, .... 36 

Columbus Receiving Natives on Board his Ship, 39 

Natives Astonished at an Eclipse of the Sun, 42 

Ferdinand De Soto, 47 

Spaniards Descending the Mississippi, 48 

Sir Martin Frobisher, 60 

Sir Walter Raleigh, 53 

Murder of White's Assistant by the Indians, 56 

Captain John Smith, 59 

Pocahontas, 61 

Captain Smith's Fight with an Indian Chief, 63 

Flight of the Indians after thf Massacre, ...... 66 

The Attack on the Doeg Wigwam, 70 

Cecil, Lord Baltimore, 74 

Mock Suns, Seen by Early Explorers, 75 

The "Mayflower" in Plymouth Harbor, 81 

Treaty between Plymouth Colony and Massasoit, 83 

Types of North American Indians, 86 

John Winthrop, 89 

King Philip, 90 

Attack of the Indians on Brookfield, 93 

Indian Weapons, 96 

The Charter Oak, 101 

Hendrick Hudson, 102 

Peter Stuyvesant, 105 

xi 



xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

William Penn, , . 108 

The Rev. Cotton Mather, .114 

General Oglethorpe, 119 

John Wesley, 122 

Digging for Captain Kidd's Treasures, 126 

Executing Negroes in New York, 128 

Benjamin Franklin, 134 

Disastrous Defeat of General Braddock, 137 

General Montcalm, 139 

William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, 141 

General James Wolfe, 143 

Washington Planting the Flag on Fort Duquesne, .... 144 

Death of General Wolfe before Quebec, 148 

Attack on the Fort at Presque Isle, 150 

Colonel Barre, 153 

John Hancock, 155 

Samuel Adams, 157 

Throwing the Tea Overboard in Boston Harbor, 159 

Death of Captain Davis at Lexington Bridge, 161 

Capture of Ticonderoga by Ethan Allen, 164 

General Burgoyne, 166 

Battle of Bunker Hill, 167 

Bunker Hill Monument, . 169 

Medal in Honor of the Recapture of Boston, 173 

Sergeant Jasper at Fort Moultrie, 174 

Signers of the Declaration of Independence, 177 

Old Independence Bell, 178 

Rattlesnake Flag, 179 

Flag and Shield, 180 

American Marksman in a Tree, 181 

Washington Crossing the Delaware, 185 

The Marquis De Lafayette, 190 

General Burgoyne Addressing the Indians, 191 

General Horatio Gates, 193 

Benedict Arnold at the Battle of Saratoga, 196 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xiii 

PAGE 

Attack on Chew's House, .198 

General Anthony Wayne, 199 

Seal of the United States, 202 

Death of Count Pulaski, 204 

An American Rifleman, 206 

John Paul Jones, 207 

Medal in Honor of Paul Jones, 208 

Daniel Boone, 209 

Tarleton's Lieutenant and the Farmer, 211 

Benedict Arnold, 214 

Major Andre, 215 

Escape of Benedict Arnold, 216 

Lord Cornwallis, 219 

Continental Bills, 221 

Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, . 224 

Attack on the Block House, 226 

George Washington, 229 

Indian Child in Cradle, 230 

John Adams, 231 

Thomas Jefferson, 233 

James Madison, 234 

A Pioneer Hero's Fight with the Savages, 236 

Capture of the "Guerriere" by the "Constitution," .... 238 

The "Wasp" Boarding the "Frolic'," 239 

Perry's Victory on Lake Erie, 240 

James Monroe, 242 

John Quincy Adams, 243 

Henry Clay, 244 

Andrew Jackson, 245 

Daniel Webster, 247 

Martin Van Buren, 248 

William Henry Harrison, 249 

John Tyler, 250 

Professor Morse, 261 

General Sam Houston, 252 



XIV 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

The Anti-Rent Riot, .253 

James K. Polk, . 255 

Lieutenant Grant going for Ammunition at Monterey, . . . 256 

Zachary Taylor, 257 

Millard Fillmore, 258 

Franklin Pierce, 260 

James Buchanan, 262 

Abraham Lincoln, 26S 

Jefferson Davis, 264 

General Joseph E. Johnston, 265 

General George B. McClellan, 267 

Iron-clad Gunboat, 271 

General W. T. Sherman, 273 

General T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson, 277 

Commodore David G. Farragut, 280 

General Robert E. Lee, . 284 

Battle of Chancellorsville, 292 

General George G. Meade, 293 

General Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, 295 

Longstreet's Arrival at Bragg's Headquarters, 298 

Wounding of General Longstreet, 308 

Battle of Cold Harbor, 311 

Death of General Polk, 314 

Sinking of the "Alabama" by the "Kearsage," 321 

General Philip H. Sheridan, 322 

Sheridan's Cavalry Charge at Cedar Creek, 324 

The Peace Commissioners, 328 

Gallant Defence of Fort Gregg, 330 

Surrender of General Lee to General Grant, 334 

The Grave of President Lincoln, 341 

Capture of Booth, Assassin of President Lincoln, .... 343 

Andrew Johnson, 345 

Ulysses S. Grant, 347 

The Burning of Chicago, 349 

Horace Greeley, 350 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xv 

PAGE 

Attack by Modocs on the Pkace Commissioners, . c . . . 352 

Centenniai. Medal, 353 

Main Building of the Centennial Exhibition, 354 

Rutherford B. Hayes, 357 

James A. Garfield, 358 

James G. Blaine, 360 

The Assassination of James A. Garfield, 361 

Chester A. Arthur, 366 

The Brooklyn Suspension Bridge, 368 

Grover Cleveland, 370 

Administering the Oath to President Cleveland, 371 

Cottage in which Grant Died at Mt. McGregor, .... 372 

Death of General Grant, 373 

General Grant's Temporary Tomb, 374 

Levi P. Morton, 378 

Benjamin Harrison, 380 

Sitting-Bull in his War-Dress, 384 

United States Battleship "Illinois," 394 

William McKinley, 398 

Map of Alaska, 406 

Fernando Cortez, 419 

Slaughter of Native Mexicans by the Spaniards, 422 

Emperor Maximilian, 433 

Emperor Maximilian Shot by Mexican Troops, 434 

City and Harbor of Havana, 438 

General Weyler's Trocha across Cuba 450 

Terrible Eruption of Mauna IvOa, 466 

The Grand Mauna Loa in Action, 468 



FULL-PAGE PHOTOTYPE ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Columbus before Ferdinand and Isabella. 

The Landing of Columbus. 

The Landing of Roger Williams. 

General Pepperell at the Siege of Louisburg. 

Patrick Henry. 

Patrick Henry Addressing the Virginia Convention. 

Battle of Bennington. 

Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia. 

George Washington. 

Putnam's Escape at Horse Neck. 

Washington Crossing the Delaware. 

Washington Reviewing the Army. 

General Harrison and Tecumseh. 

Commodore Perry at the Battle of Lake Erie. 

Decatur's Conflict with the Algerine Pirates at Tripoli. 

Henry Clay. 

Ulysses S. Grant. 

Capture of New Orleans — Fleet Passing Forts on the Mississippi. 

General George G. Meade. 

Battle of Gettysburg. 

Washington Monument, Fairmount Park, Unveiled by President McKinley, 

May 15, 1897. 
Thomas A. Edison. 
Lafayette Memorial. 
General Andrew Jackson. 
General Winfield Scott. 
Lincoln Emancipation Statue. 
Garfield Memorial. 
General George H. Thomas. 
Admiral David G. Farragut. 
Rear Admiral Dupont. 
United States Cruiser "Baltimore." 
United States Cruiser "San Francisco." 
United States Cruiser " Newark." 
United States Cruiser "Columbia." 
United States Cruiser "Petrel." 
United States Cruiser " Yorktown." 
United States Cruiser "Philadelphia." 
United States Cruiser '-Chicago." 




CHAPTER I. 

THE NORTHMEN. 

^T is now pretty generally admitted by intelligent historians, that 
America was discovered and colonized by the Northmen, some five 
hundred years before the time of Columbus. A recent American 
writer remarks that " the Northmen, at the time when the discovery 
is supposed to have been made, were the greatest navigators in 
Kurope. During the two or three centuries preceding their discovery of 
America, they had spread themselves over all the islands of the British 
Archipelago, and had finally seated one of their princes, the great Canute, 
upon the throne of England. At about the same time, they conquered one 
of the finest portions of France, to which they gave their name of Normandy. 
" When the Saxon blood temporarily regained the ascendancy in England, 
■one of their chieftains, as if to vindicate the honor of the stock, crossed 
the channel from Normandy, crushed by a single decisive blow the feeble 
array of his competitor, at the battle of Hastings, and secured to himself 
and his posterity the British sceptre. Not content with these conquests, 
the Northmen entered the Mediterranean, took possession of Sicily and the 
northern coasts of Italy and Greece, and for a time gave law from the 
thrones of Jerusalem and Constantinople." 

Among the achievements of the earlier history of the Northmen, were 
the colonization of Iceland, in the year 875, and that of Greenland, in the 
year 986. The leader of the colony which settled in the latter region was 
Eric Rauda^ or the Red. He established his residence at a place which 
he called Brattalid. He bestowed upon the country the attractive name of 
■Greenland — as a lure to emigrants, and his principal companions gave their 
names to their respective places of residence. 

The colonization of Greenland by the Northmen was the event that 

led immediately to the discovery of America. Even before this time it was 

in no way improbable that some of their ships navigating between Norway, 

the British Archipelago and Iceland, all which countries were then in their 

2 17 



18 THE NORTHMEN. 

possession, should be driven out of their course by strong easterly winds 
as far as the coast of America. Some such accidents are, in fact, alluded 
to by the Icelandic writers, and others may have happened without leaving 
any trace in history. 

But when the Northmen had extended their settlements to a point so 
near the American coast as Greenland, occurrences of this kind became 
almost matters of course. We find, accordingly, that the year succeeding 
their establishment in that country, is the one assigned by the Icelandic 
writers to the discovery of America. The account of the latter event as 
given by these writers is briefly as follows : 

The Colony that Settled in Greenland in 986. 

Among the companions of Eric Rauda, or the Red — the leader of the 
colony which settled in Greenland — was Heriulf, whose name is still attached 
to the southern promontory of Greenland, called by the English, Cape 
Farewell. Heriulf had a son named Biarne, who is represented in Icelandic 
chronicles as a young man of great merit. He had early engaged in 
commercial enterprises which had been attended with success. It was his 
practice to pass his winters alternately in foreign parts and at home with 
his father. In pursuance of this habit, he had passed the winter of the 
year, when his father emigrated to Greenland in Norway, and on returning 
home the next summer found him gone. He determined at once to follow, 
and, having obtained the assent of his crew, set sail without discharging his 
cargo, though unacquainted with the course. 

After losing sight of land they met with northerly winds and fogs, and 
were driven about many days and nights without knowing where they were. 
When the fog cleared away they made sail, and the same day saw land. 
The coast was low and sandy, rising gradually into hills covered with wood. 
As it did not correspond with the description given of that of Greenland, 
they left it to larboard and steered a northerly course. After another day's, 
sail they made land a second time. It was low and woody, as before. 

They now put to sea again, and, after sailing three and a half days 
with a southwest wind, made land a third time. It proved to be a bold 
shore surrounded with ice, and on further exploration they discovered it to 
be an island. Once more leaving the land behind them, and pursuing their 
way to the north, after two days' and two nights' sail they made the southern 
cape of Greenland, where Biarne found his father. 



THE NORTHMEN. 



19 



The discoveries of Biarne naturally became a subject of much conver- 
sation in Greenland. At length Leif, a son of Eric the Red, the leader and 
chief of the colony, determined to undertake another voyage in the same 
direction. He accordingly purchased Biarne's ship, and engaged a crew of 
thirty-five men, including a German named Tyrker, who had lived from his 
youth in Eric's family. 

The date of Liet's voyage is assigned to the 3'ear 1000. On leaving 
Greenland, he first made the land, which had been last seen by Biarne, 
and found it as described by him, a barren 
coast, rising into lofty mountains covered 
with ice and snow ; the space between 
them and the shore being a naked rock, 
entirely destitute of herbage. 

They now put to sea a third time 
with a north-easterly wind, and, after two 
days' sail, once more made land. There 
was an island near the coast, upon which 
they landed : the weather was pleasant, 
and the grass covered with dew, Avhich, 
on tasting it, they found of a singular 
sweetness. They sailed westward, through '«^^lf-^^ 
a strait which separated the island from a 



promontory projecting northerly from the 
shore, and finally reached a place where a 
river, issuing from a lake above, fell into leif eric— a norse sea-king. 
the sea. Here Leif determined to establish his colony, and having trans- 
ported his effects, in boats, from the ship to the shore of the lake, he 
erected wooden huts for the temporary accommodation of his men. 

Afterwards, when they had made up their minds to sta}^, they built 
larger houses, and called the settlement Leit's Budir or Booths. When the 
work of building was finished, Leif divided his men into two parties, one 
of which regularly kept watch at home, while the other explored the coun- 
try, but not so far as to be away more than a day at a time. Eeif him- 
self alternately accompanied each of the parties. The chronicle here inter- 
rupts the narrative, to remark that Leif was a tall and robust man, 
uncommonly dignified in his personal appearance, and very prudent and 
judicious in the management of his affairs. 




20 THE NORTHMEN. 

One evening, ou the return of the exploring party, it appeared that 
the German, T3'rker, was missing. Leif was much alarmed at this, and set 
forth with twelve men in search of him ; but had not proceeded far when 
he met him returning. He gave as a reason for his delay that he had 
been gathering grapes, of which he had found a great abundance. This 
was a fruit unknown to the Northmen, but with which and its uses 
Tyrker, as a German, was acquainted. In consequence of this discovery, 
Leif gave to the country the name of Wineland, to which his countrymen 
seem to have subsequently added the epithet Good^ as it is generally men- 
tioned in the chronicles, under the name of Wineland The Good. The 
men now employed themselves alternately in gathering grapes and in cut- 
ting wood, with which they loaded the ship. The river abounded with fish, 
and particularly salmon of a large size. 

Leif Eric Returns to Greenland. 

On the shortest day of the year, according to the chronicle, the sun 
rose at half-past seven o'clock in the morning, and set at half-past four in 
the evening. This occurs about the latitude of Cape Cod, so that if the 
record can be depended on, there is no doubt of the identity of Wineland 
with Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It is proper to add, however, that 
the meaning of this passage is a matter of dispute among the learned. 
The following spring, Leif set sail, with his cargo of wood, and arrived 
safely in Greenland, having on his way rescued fifteen shipwrecked mari- 
ners, from a rock near the coast. His father Eric died the same year, and 
Leif took no further share in the exploration of the new-found territory. 

The numerous discoveries of Leif, of course, increased the interest that 
had been excited in Greenland by those of Biame. Some time in the 
following year, 1001, Thorwald, a brother of Leif, determined to explore 
still farther the new-found region, and borrowing LeiPs ship for the 
purpose, set sail upon the expedition. He arrived, without any particular 
adventure, at Leit's Booths, where he passed the winter, employing his 
company chiefly in fishing. In the spring, Thorwald despatched a party 
of men in the boat, to explore the country to the southwest. They found 
it beautiful and well wooded, with but little interval between the woods and 
the sea, which abounded in islands and shallows. They saw no traces of 
human habitation, excepting a wooden shed upon one of the islands. The 
party returned in the autumn to LeiPs 3ooths. 



THE NORTHMEN. %\ 

In the following spring (1002), Thorwald sailed eastward in the ship, 
and finally doubled a cape, upon which he was afterwards shipwrecked. 
To this cape he gave the name of Keel Cape. It is supposed by the 
Danish Society to be Cape Cod, which in fact bears some resemblance, in 
the general outline, to the keel of a ship. After repairing his vessel, 
Thorwald pursued his course to the west, until he reached a promontory 
covered with wood, udiich he thought so beautiful that he determined to 
make it the seat of his settlement. At this place the Northmen found 
three canoes, each having on board three of the natives. A skirmish ensued, 
in which eight of the natives were killed : the ninth escaped, and soon after 
returned with an accession of force. 

Leader of the Expedition Mortally Wounded. 

Another engagement then took place, which terminated in the retire- 
ment of the natives. In the course of it, however, Thorwald, the leader 
of the expedition, received a mortal wound under the arm from an arrow. 
He summoned his followers around him, and inquired whether any of them 
were wounded, to which they all replied in the negative. " As for me," 
continued Thorwald, " I have received a wound under the arm from an 
arrow, and I feel that it will be mortal. I advise you to prepare imme- 
diately for your return ; but ye shall first carry my body to the promon- 
tory which I thought so beautiful, and where I had determined to fix my 
residence. It may be that it was a prophetic word which fell from my 
lips, about my abiding there for a season. There shall ye bury me, and 
ye shall plant a cross at my head, and another at my feet, and ye shall 
call the name of the place Krossanes — Cape Cross — through all future time." 

Thorwald died, as he anticipated, of his wound, and was buried by his 
companions in the manner which he had directed. On the return of the 
expedition to Greenland, Thorstein, a third son of Kric, determined to 
proceed to Wineland, and bring back his brother's body. He accordingly 
fitted out the same ship, with a crew of twenty-five men ; taking also with 
him his wife Gudrida. This voyage proved an unsuccessful one. They 
were tossed about all summer without knowing where they were, until at 
the opening of the winter they finally reached Greenland. 

In the course of the following year (1006), there arrived in Greenland 
two ships from Iceland, one of which was commanded by Thorfinn, who 
was very significantly called Karlsefne^ that is, a man of promise. He 



22 THE NORTHMEN. 

was a wealthy and powerful person of illustrious lineage, being descended 
from Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Scotch and Irish ancestors ; some of 
whom were kings, or of roj^al descent. He was accompanied by Snorre 
Thorbrandson, also a person of distinction in Iceland. They remained in 
Greenland through the year, and kept the festival of Yule, or Christmas, at 
Brattalid, the residence of Eric, who was now dead. During the winter, 
Thorfinn became enamored of Gudrida, the widow of Thorstein, and 
obtained the consent of Leif to marry her. 

Expedition of Thorfinn from Greenland. 

The discovery and exploration of the new-found region of Wineland 
the Good were still the principal subjects of conversation in the family. 
Thorfinn was strongly urged by his wife, and other friends, to undertake 
a voyage in that direction, which he finally determined to do. Accordingly, 
the following spring (1007), he fitted out an expedition, composed of three 
ships, carrying a hundred and forty men. He took the command himself 
of one of the vessels, on board of which he was accompanied by his wife 
Gudrida and his friend Snorre. One of the other ships was commanded 
b}^ Biarne Grimolfson, of Breidefiord, and Thorhall Gamlason, of Austfiord, 
in Iceland. The third belonged to Thorwald, who had married a daughter 
of Eric. With this little fleet, about equal in force to that with which 
Columbus made his first voyage, Thorfinn set sail from Greenland. 

After landing at Helluland and Markland, he proceeded on a south- 
west course, having the land on his right, until he came to Keel Cape. 
This Cape is described in the chronicle of his voyage as consisting of 
unexplored deserts, skirted by a long, sandy shore. Here the navigators 
remained a few days, and made some slight exploration of the country ; in 
the course of which they found grapes and wheat growing wild. They 
then continued their course, until they came to a frith or inlet at the 
entrance of which was an island. 

They found the island frequented by such an immense number of 
birds, that it was hardly possible to walk, without treading upon their eggs. 
Here Thorfinn landed, and fixed his residence for the winter. The following 
spring Thorhall set forth with eight of the men, in search of Wineland, 
but was driven by westerly gales across the ocean, upon the coast of Ireland, 
where they were made slaves. Thorfinn with the rest of the company took 
the other direction, to the southwest, and soon reached Leif's Booths, which 



THE NORTHMEN. 23 

were situated, as has been seen, on the shore of a lake that discharged its 
waters into the ocean, through a river. Thorfinn gave to the lake the name 
of Hop — equivalent to haven or bay. He found wheat growing wild on the 
low grounds, and vines on the hills. 

Friendly Visits from the Natives. 

The Northmen erected additional dwelling-houses at a little distance 
from the bay, and passed the winter at this place. The climate appeared 
to them, as it had to Leif and his company, extremely mild. No snow fell, 
and the cattle were kept out at pasture through the winter. Early in the 
spring the settlement was visited by the natives in canoes, who carried on 
a friendly intercourse with the Northmen, exchanging furs for milk-soup 
and cloth. About this time Gudrida, the wife of Thorfinn, gave birth to a 
son, who was named Snorre. At the opening of the following winter the 
natives appeared again, in greater numbers, and with hostile intentions. A 
skirmish ensued, in which some of the Northmen w^ere killed, but in which 
the natives were finally repulsed, not without the active interference of the 
Northern women, and particularly Freydisa. The hostile disposition shown 
by the natives, seems to have satisfied the Northmen that the country, not- 
withstanding its natural advantages, w^ould be an uncomfortable residence. 
They accordingly determined to abandon the idea of a settlement, and 
prepare for returning to Greenland. The following Spring (1011), after a 
three years' abode, they took their departure from Wineland, and having 
taken on board some of the natives, arrived safely in Greenland. 

Such are the principal particulars given in the chronicles of the most 
important expedition which was ever fitted out by the Northmen for the 
exploration of the new-found region. It appears to have resulted in the 
abandonment, by those who were engaged in it, of the plan of establishing 
a colony, on account of the ferocious character of the natives. On his 
return, to Greenland, Thorfinn engaged in trading expeditions to Norway, 
and in 1015 purchased an estate in Iceland, where he passed the 
remainder of his life. His son, Snorre, who was bom in Wineland, suc- 
ceeded him in the estate and became a person of high consideration 
in the country. On the marriage of Snorre, his mother, Gudrida, made 
a pilgrimage to Rome, and after her return retired to a convent for the 
rest of her life. 

A numerous and illustrious progeny descended from Thorfinn, through 



24 THE NORTHMEN. 

his American born son, Snorre, among whom may be mentioned Bishop 
Thorlak (a grandson of Snorre, by his daughter Elfrida) , who was the author 
of the oldest work on the ecclesiastical law of Iceland, published in 1123. 
To him we are probably indebted for the accounts of the voyages of his 
ancestors to Wineland. The record of the several generations of this 
remarkable family has been continued unbroken up to the present day. 

Disastrous End of an Expedition. 

Subsequently to the great expedition of Thorfinn, there are very few 
particulars mentioned in the Icelandic writers respecting the new-found 
regions. These appear to have been pretty soon virtually abandoned, and 
finally almost forgotten. The same year, however (1011), in which Thorfinn 
returned, Freydisa, who had accompanied him, fitted out a single ship, in 
which she sailed herself, in company with two Norwegians, Helge and 
Finnboge, recently arrived in Greenland, a crew of about thirty-five men and 
a number of women. She returned the next year, without having attempted 
a settlement, and her companions are represented as having destroyed each, 
other in private quarrels. 

In 1026 an Icelander named Gudleif embarked for Dublin. The 
vessel being driven out of her course, came near what is supposed to be 
the American shore, where the crew were seized by the natives and carried 
into the interior. Here they were accosted by a venerable chief, who 
addressed them in their own language, and inquired after several persons 
in Iceland. He refused to tell his name; but as he sent a present of a 
gold ring to Thurida, the sister of Snorre Gode, and a sword to her son, 
he was supposed to be Biorne the Bard, who had been her lover, who had 
left Iceland in the year 998. 

After this period we have but few and scattered notices of the colony 
of the Northmen in America. The conquests of this enterprising people 
in the southern parts of Europe are sufficient to account for their abandon- 
ment, not only of the colony on the shores of Rhode Island and Massa- 
chusetts, but of the larger and older colony of Greenland. It suited their 
warlike propensities better to make descents on the shores of England, 
France and Italy, than to cultivate their distant colonies on the compara- 
tively inhospitable shores of North America. 




CHAPTER II. 

THE FAMOUS MOUND-BUILDERS. 

)HAT North America was at some remote period occupied by a 
more civilized and powerful race than the Indians, found by 
the first explorers, is very certain. But who they were, what 
was their history, or what the cause of their extinction, are 
among the profoundest mysteries of the past. Traces as dis- 
tinct as those which mark the various physical changes which the conti- 
nent has undergone, exist to show that these primitive inhabitants w^ere 
both numerous and far advanced in civilization ; but this is all that we 
know concerning them. 

In various parts of the countrj^, and especially in the valley of the 
Mississippi, large mounds and other structures of earth and stone, but 
chiefly of earth, remain to show^ the magnitude of the works constructed 
by these people, to whom the name " Mound-Builders " is generally ap- 
plied. Some of these earthworks embrace as much as fifteen or sixteen 
miles of embankment. Indeed, their size, as well as their form and ar- 
rangement, is one of their most remarkable characteristics. 

x\s no domestic animals existed in this country at that period, these 
works must have been constructed by bringing the earth used in them by 
hand; a fact which shows that the primitive population was a large one. 
The construction of the works proves that they had considerable engineer- 
ing skill. The square, the circle, the ellipse, and the octagon are all used 
in these structures, being all combined in a single system of works in some 
places. The proportions are always perfect. The square is always a true; 
square, and the circle a true circle. 

Many implements and ornaments of copper, silver and precious stones 
— such as axes, chisels, knives, bracelets, beads, and pieces of thread and 
cloth, and well-shaped vases of pottery have been found in these mounds, 
and show the extent of the civilization of the " Mound-Builders " and their 
knowledge of the arts. 

In the region of Lake Superior are found old copper mines worked by 

25 



•26 



THE FAMOUS MOUND-BUILDERS. 



these ancient people. In one of these mines there was discovered an im- 
mense block of copper weighing nearly six tons. It had been left in the 
process of removal to the top of the mine, nearly thirty feet above, and 
was supported on logs of wood which were partly petrified. The stone 
and copper tools used by the miners were discovered lying about as they 
had been left by their owners ages before. At the mouth of this mine are 
piles of earth thrown out in digging it, and out of these embankments 
trees are growing which are nearly four hundred years old. 




REMARKABLE MOUNDS AT MARIETTA, OHIO. 

The following interesting account of the mounds and their builders is 
from the pen of Mr. J. H. Beadle, who has made a special study of this 
subject: A people for whom we have no name, vaguely included under 
the general term of Mound-Builders, have left evidences of extensive works 
in the vicinity of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and their tributaries. 
These are of three kinds : mounds, square and circular inclosures, and 
raised embankments of various forms. Of mounds the following are most 
important and best known : One at Grave Creek, West Virginia, seventy 
feet high and one thousand feet in circumference at the base ; one near 
Miamisburg, Ohio, sixty-eight feet high and eighty hundred and fifty-two 
feet in circumference; the great truncated pyramid at Cahokia, Illinois, 
seven hundred feet long, five hundred wide, and ninety in height ; the im- 



THE FAMOUS MOUND-BUILDERS. 27 

mense square mound, witli face of one hundred and eighty feet, at Marietta, 
Ohio ; and some hundreds of inferior mounds from sixty to thirty feet in 
height, in different States, from Wisconsin to the mouth of the Mississippi. 
Unlike all the mounds in Mexico and Central and South America, 
those in our country have no trace of buildings on them. Why? Until 
I visited Arizona I had no answer. There the solution was easy. In those 
regions stone was abundant, and timber was scarce ; here the reverse was 
the case. Our predecessors built of wood, the others of stone ; the works 
of the latter remain to this day, while wooden buildings would leave no 
trace after one or two centuries, if indeed they were not burnt by the 
savages as soon as abandoned. 

Great Number of Mounds in Ohio. 

Of the second class the best known are: the square fortification at 
Cedar Bank, Scioto River, Ohio, with face of 800 feet, inclosing a mound 
245 feet long by 150 broad; the works four miles north of Chillicothe, 
Ohio, a square and a circular fortification inclosing twenty acres each ; the 
graded way near Piketon, Ohio; about a hundred mounds and inclosures 
in Ross County, Ohio; the pyramid at Seltzertown, Mississippi, 600 feet 
long and 40 feet high, and a vast number of mounds, inclosures, squares 
and pyramids on the upper lakes, and scattered through the Southern and 
Western States. Bvery State in this great region contains these structures. 

By far the greatest division is in Central and South America; and 
here we find ourselves at the point where our ancient civilization reached 
its height, among works w^hich are the astonishment of explorers and per- 
plexity of scholars. Yucatan is a vast field for antiquarian research, dotted 
from one end to the other with the ruins of cities, temples and palaces. 
But in the great forest which covers the northern half of Guatemala, the 
southern half of Yucatan, and parts of other States, covering an area larger 
than Ohio, is to be found the key to our ancient history. Within a few 
years past cities have been discovered which must have contained a popu- 
lation of a quarter of a million, in an advanced condition of civilization ; and 
yet, owing to the jealousy of the natives and the indifference of modem 
scholars, next to nothing is known, and few scientific researches have been 
made upon this intensely interesting subject. In my limited space I con- 
fine this inquiry to the remains in our own country. From what we see 
in the West and South, the following conclusions are evident : 



28 THE FAMOUS MOUND-BUILDERS 

1. The Mound Builders constituted a considerable population, under 
one government. No wandering and feeble tribes could have erected such 
works ; and the extent of the works, evidently many years in erection, as 
well as their completeness and scientific exactness, show the controlling 
energy of one directing central power, which alone can account for their 
uniform character. 

2. They were an agricultural people. The barbarous state requires 
many times as large an area for the same number of people as the civilized 
state ; and the savage condition a much larger. The State of Ohio will 
support an agricultural population of many millions ; yet it never contained 
fifty thousand savages. It is easily proven that that portion of the United 
States east of the Mississippi never contained half a million Indians. It 
follows, also, that a very large portion of the country around their works, 
must have been cleared of timber and in cultivated fields. 

Forest Trees "which are the Growth of Centuries. 

3. They left our country a long time ago. Nature does not give a 
forest growth at once to abandoned fields ; a preparatory growth of shrubs 
and softer timber comes first. But forest trees have been found upon the 
summit of their mounds, which show, by annual rings and other signs, at 
least six hundred years of growth. There could be no better proof of their 
great antiquity. 

Their works are never found upon the lowest terrace of the formation 
on the rivers ; though many signs indicate that they built some as nearly 
on a level with the streams as possible. Their " covered ways," leading 
down to water, now terminate on the second terrace above. It is demon- 
strable that of the various terraces — " second bottoms " — on our streams, 
the lowest was longest in forming. From these and many other signs, it 
is proved that the last of the Mound Builders left the Ohio valley at least 
a thousand years ago. 

4. They occupied the country, at least the southern part of it, where 
their population was densest, a very long time. This is shown by the 
extent of their works, the evidences of their working the copper-mines of 
the Superior region, and many other proofs. The best judges estimate that 
nearly a thousand years elapsed from the time of their entrance till their 
departure from the Mississippi valley. 

5. At the south they were at peace ; but as they advanced northward^ 



THE FAMOUS MOUND-BUILDERS. 29 

they came more and more into contact with the wild tribes, before whom 
they finally retired — again towards the south. These facts are clearly 
proved by the increase of fortifications northward, and broad flat mounds, 
suitable only for building, southward. 

So much for proof; and, connecting these with other proofs, the latest 
antiquarians are of the opinion that the Toltecs — the civilized race preced- 
ing the Aztecs — were our Mound-Builders. 

Immense Forest in Central America. 

When we pass to the more southern ruins the proofs of great an- 
tiquity, large population and long occupation are vastly increased. Some 
of them have been alluded to. The great forest of Guatemala and Yucatan 
is nearly as large as Ohio and Indiana combined, and could easily have 
sustained a civilized population of ten millions. The Aztecs, whom the 
Spaniards found, were the last of at least three civilized races, and much 
inferior to the Toltecs immediately preceding them. Their history indicates 
that they were merely one of the original races, who overthrew and mingled 
with the Toltecs, adopting part of their religion and civilization. The 
Peruvian Incas, found by Pizarro, seemed to have been the second in the 
series of races. But civilization is not spontaneous ; it must have required 
nearly a thousand years for the first of the three dynasties to have de- 
veloped art and learning far enough to erect the buildings we find. 

Thus we have the series : A thousand years since the Mound Builders 
left our country ; a previous thousand years of settlement and occupation, 
and a thousand years for the precedent civilization to develop. Or, begin- 
ning in Mexico, etc. : a thousand years of Spaniard and Aztec ; a previous 
thousand years for Toltec migration and settlement, and a thousand years 
before that for the Colhuas to develop, flourish and decline. This carries 
us back to the time when the same course of events was inaugurated on 
the Hastern Continent. We know that it has required so long to produce 
all we see in Europe and Asia; all reasoning, by analogy, goes to show 
that at least as long a time has been required to produce equally great 
evidences in America. 




CHAPTER III. 

DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY COLUMBUS. 

^OLUMBUS, notwithstanding the discovery of America by the 
Northmen, deserves as much credit for his noble enterprise, as 
though the continent had never been previously visited by any 
European. He was probably ignorant of what had been done 
by the Northmen, or if he acquired any knowledge of their 
discoveries, it is not probable that he would ever imagine there was any 
connection between the inhospitable countries which they described and the 
luxuriant Indies which he sought. 

Christopher Columbus was born at Genoa in 1441. It has been asserted 
that his origin was humble. This is of the least possible consequence, or 
it would not be difficult to produce evidence that he was well descended. 
He studied awhile at Pavia, but quitted the university at an early period 
to follow a maritime life. Between thirty and forty years were spent in 
voyages to various parts of the world, during which geometry, astronomy and 
cosmography occupied much of his attention. At length he settled at Lisbon, 
where he married the orphan daughter of Palestrello, an Italian navigator. 
From a long and close application to the study of geography and 
navigation, Columbus had obtained a knowledge of the true figure of the 
earth, much superior to the general notions of the age in which he lived. 
In order that the globe might be properly balanced, and the lands and 
seas proportioned to each other, he accordingly was led to conceive that 
another continent was necessary. Other reasons induced him to believe 
that this continent was connected with the East Indies. As early as the 
year 1474, he communicated his ingenious theory to Paul, a physician of 
Florence, eminent for his knowledge of geography. He warmly approved it, 
and encouraged Columbus in an undertaking so laudable, and which 
promised so much benefit to the world. 

Having fully satisfied himself with respect to the truth of his system, 
he became impatient to reduce it to practice. The first step towards this 
was to secure the patronage of some of the European powers. Accordingly 
30 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY COLUMBUS. 



31 



lie laid his scheme before the senate of Genoa, making his native country 
the first offer of his services. They rejected his proposals. 

He next applied to John II. king of Portugal, a monarch of an enter- 
prising genius, and no incompetent judge of naval affairs. The king listened 
to him in the most gracious manner, and referred the consideration of his 
plan to a number of eminent scholars, whom he was accustomed to consult 
in matters of this kind. These men, from mean and interested views, started 
innumerable objections, and asked many questions, on purpose to betray 
Columbus into a full explanation of 
his system. Having done this, they 
advised the king to despatch a vessel, 
secretly, to attempt the proposed dis- 
covery, by following exactly the course 
which Columbus had pointed out. 

Columbus, after years of waiting, 
abandoned the hope of obtaining a 
noble assistance, and applied to Henr}^ 
VII. of England, from whom he re- 
ceived a decided refusal. Quitting 
Lisbon in 1484, Columbus went to 
Spain, intending to lay his plans be- 
fore Ferdinand and Isabella, the sov- 
ereigns of that country. He could 
scarcely have chosen a more unpro- 
pitious time. He was told by the Christopher Columbus. 

sovereigns that on account of the Moorish war in which they were then 
engaged they were too much occupied to treat with him, but would consider 
his project at some future time when they would be better prepared to 
decide upon its merits. 

He accepted this answer as a refusal, and prepared to go to France to 
ask the assistance of the king of that country, from whom he had received 
a friendly letter. Traveling on foot he stopped at the monastery of Santa 
Maria de Rabida, near Palos, to visit the Prior Juan Perez de Marchena, 
who had befriended him when he first came to Spain. The prior, learning 
his intention to quit Spain, persuaded him to remain until one more effort 
could be made to enlist the government in his plans. Leaving Columbus 
at the convent, Juan Perez, who had formerly been the queen's confessor. 





COLUMBUS AT THE MONASTERY OF LA RABIDA. 



32 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY COLUMBUS. 33 

mounted his mule and set off for the Spanish camp before Granada. He 
was readily granted an interview by Queen Isabella, and he urged the suit 
of Columbus with all the force of eloquence and reasoning of which he was 
master, and finally was successful. 

On the 3d of August, 1492, Columbus left Spain in the impressive 
presence of a large crowd of spectators, who united their supplications to 
heaven for his success. He steered directly for the Canary Islands, where 
he arrived and refitted, as well as he could, his crazy and ill-appointed 
fleet. Hence he sailed, September 6th, a due western course into an 
unknown ocean. Columbus now found a thousand unforeseen hardships to 
encounter, which demanded all his judgment, fortitude, and address to sur- 
mount. Besides the difficulties, unavoidable from the nature of his under- 
taking, he had to struggle with those which arose from the ignorance and 
timidity of the people under his command. 

The Sailors Filled with Terror. 

On the 14th of September he was astonished to find that the magnetic 
needle in their compass did not point exactly to the polar star, but varied 
towards the west ; and as they proceeded, this variation increased. This 
new phenomenon, which is now familiar, though the cause remains one of 
the secrets of nature, filled the companions of Columbus with terror. 
Nature itself seemed to have sustained a change ; and the only guide they 
had left, to point them to a safe retreat from an unbounded and trackless 
ocean, was about to fail them. Columbus, with no less quickness than 
ingenuity, assigned a reason for this appearance, which, though it did not 
satisfy himself, seemed so plausible to his companions, that it dispelled their 
fears, or silenced their murmurs. The sailors, discontented and alarmed, 
several times mutinied, and once proposed to throw their admiral overboard. 

Columbus was now fully sensible of his perilous situation. He had 
observed, with great uneasiness, the fatal operation of ignorance and of fear 
in producing disaffection among his crew ; and saw that it was now ready 
to burst out into open mutiny. He retained, however, perfect presence of 
mind. He affected to seem ignorant of their machinations. Notwithstand- 
ing the agitation and solicitude of his own mind, he appeared with a cheer- 
ful countenance; like a man satisfied with the progress which he had 
made, and confident of success. Sometimes he employed all the arts of 

insinuation to soothe his men. 
3 



w 




COLUMBUS ADDRESSING HIS MEN DURING THE MUTINY ON BOARD HIS SHIP.^ 
34 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY COLUMBUS. 35 

On other occasions he assumed a tone of authority, and threatened 
them with vengeance from their sovereign, if, by their dastardly behavior, 
they should defeat this noble effort to promote the glory of God, and to 
exalt the Spanish name above that of every other nation. Even with sediti- 
ous sailors, the words of a man whom they had been accustomed to rever- 
ence were weighty and persuasive ; and not only restrained them from 
those violent excesses which they meditated, but prevailed with them to 
accompany their admiral for some time longer. As they proceeded, the 
indications of approaching land seemed to be more certain. 

Columbus in Danger from Mutiny. 

Columbus, in imitation of the Portuguese navigators, who had been 
gfuided in several of their discoveries b}^ the motion of birds, altered his 
course from due west towards that quarter whither they pointed their flight. 
But after holding on for several days in this new direction without any bet- 
ter success than formerly, having seen no object during thirty days but the 
sea and the sky, the hopes of his companions subsided faster than they had 
risen ; their fears revived with additional force ; impatience, rage and despair 
appeared in every countenance. All sense of subordination was lost. 

The of&cers, who had hitherto concurred with Columbus in opinion, 
and supported his authority, now took part with the private men : 
they assembled tumultuously on the deck, expostulated with their com- 
mander, mingled threats with their expostulations, and required him in- 
stantly to tack about and to return to Europe. Columbus perceived that 
it would be of no avail to have recourse to any of his former arts, which, 
having been tried so often, had lost their effect ; and that it was impossi- 
ble to rekindle any zeal for the success of the expedition among men in 
whose breasts fear had extinguished every generous sentiment. He saw 
that it was no less vain to think of employing either gentle or severe 
measures, to quell a mutiny so general and so violent. 

It was necessary, on all these accounts, to soothe passions which he 
could no longer command, and to give way to a torrent too impetuous to 
be checked. He promised solemnly to his men that he would comply with 
their requests, provided they would accompany him, and obey his commands 
for three days longer; and if, during that time, land were not discovered, 
he would then abandon the enterprise, and direct his course back to Spain. 
Enraged as the sailors were, and impatient to turn their faces again towards 




i 



w 



o 

P 

« 

P 
o 

O 

to 
O 

o 

M 

Q 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY COLUMBUS. 37 

their native country, this proposition did not appear to them unreasonable. 
Nor did Columbus hazard much in confining himself to a term so short. 

The presages of discovering land were now so numerous and promising, 
that he deemed them infallible. For some days the sounding line reached 
the bottom, and the soil which it brought up indicated land to be at no 
great distance. The flocks of birds increased, and were composed not only 
of sea-fowl, but of such land birds as could not be supposed to fly far from 
the shore. The crew of the Pinta observed a cane floating which seemed 
to be newly cut, and likewise a piece of timber artificially carved. The 
sailors aboard the Nigna took up the branch of a tree with red berries per- 
fectly fresh. The clouds around the setting sun assumed a new appear- 
ance ; the air was more mild and warm ; and, during night, the wind 
became unequal and variable. 

Welcome News that Land is Discovered. 

From all these symptoms, Columbus was so confident of being near 
land that, on the evening of the lltli of October, after public prayers for 
success, he ordered the sails to be furled, and the ships to lie by, keeping 
strict watch, lest they should be driven ashore in the night. During this 
interval of suspense and expectation no man shut his eyes. 

About two hours before midnight Columbus, standing on the forecastle, 
observed a light at a distance, and privately pointed it out to Pedro Gut- 
tierez, a page of the queen's wardrobe. Guttierez perceived it, and calling 
to Salcedo, comptroller of the fleet, all three saw it in motion, as if it were 
carried from place to place. At 2 o'clock next morning Roderic Triana 
discovered land, and the jo3^ful sound of Lajid! laud! was heard from the 
Pinta, which kept always ahead of the other ships. But having been 
deceived so often by fallacious appearances, every man was now become 
slow of belief, and waited, in all the anguish of uncertainty and impatience, 
for the return of day. 

As soon as morning dawned, all doubts and fears were dispelled. From 
every ship an island was seen about two leagues to the north, whose flat 
and verdant fields, well stored with wood and watered with many rivulets, 
presented the aspect of a delightful country. The crew of the Pinta 
instantly began the Te Deum^ as a hymn of thanksgiving to God ; and 
were joined by those of the other ships, with tears of joy and transports 
of congratulation. 



38 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY COLUMBUS. 

This office of gratitude to lieaveu was followed by an act of justice to 
their commander. They threw themselves at the feet of Columbus with 
feelings of self-condemnation mingled with reverence. The}'- implored him 
to pardon their ignorance, incredulity and insolence, which had created him 
so much unnecessary disquiet, and had so often obstructed the prosecution 
of his well-concerted plan ; and passing, in the warmth of their admiratipn, 
from one extreme to another, they now pronounced the man whom they 
had so lately reviled and threatened, to be a person inspired by Heaven 
with sagacity and fortitude more than human, in order to accomplish a 
design so far beyond the ideas and conception of all former ages. 

Astonishment of the People on Shore. 

As soon as the sun arose all their boats were manned and armed. 
They rowed towards the island with their colors displayed, with warlike 
music, and other martial pomp. As they approached the coast they saw 
it covered with a multitude of people, whom the novelty of the spectacle 
had drawn together, whose attitudes and gestures expressed "wonder and 
astonishment at the strange objects they saw. 

Columbus was the first European who set foot in the New World 
which he had discovered. He landed in a rich dress and with a naked 
sword in his hand. His men followed ; and, kneeling down, the}^ all kissed 
the ground which they had so long desired to see. They next erected a 
crucifix, and, prostrating themselves before it, returned thanks to God for 
conducting their voyage to such a happy issue. The island was one of 
the Bahama islands, to which he gave the name of Sait Sahado?'^ and took 
possession of it in the name of their Catholic Majesties. 

In this first voyage he discovered several other of the Lucayo or 
Bahama Islands, with those of Cuba and Hispaniola. The natives con- 
sidered the Spaniards as divinities, and the discharge of the artillery as 
their thunder ; they fell prostrate at the sound. He afterwards touched at 
several of the islands in the same cluster, inquiring everywhere for gold, 
which he thought was the only object of commerce worth his attention. 
In steering southward he discovered the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola, 
inhabited by a humane and hospitable people. 

Before embarking for Spain, Columbus took on board some of the 
products of the new world to convince the people on the other side of the 
ocean that he had made a great and important discovery. He captured some 




COLUMBUS RECEIVING NATIVES ON BOARD HIS SHIP. 



39 



40 DISCOVERY OB AMERICA BY COLUMBUS. 

of the birds and animals, and also induced several of the natives to accom- 
pany him. The latter were ornamented with feathers, necklaces, etc. 

On his return he was overtaken by a storm, which had nearly proved 
fatal to his ships and their crews. At a crisis when all was given up for 
lost, Columbus had presence of mind enough to retire into his cabin, .and 
to write upon parchment a short account of his voyage ; this he wrapped 
in an oiled cloth, which he enclosed in a cake of wax, put it into a tight 
cask, and threw it into the sea, in hopes that some fortunate accident might 
preserve a deposit of so much importance to the world. 

Oolumbus Welconied by the Court and People. 

He arrived at Palos in Spain, whence he had sailed the year before, on 
the 15th of March, 1493. He was welcomed with all the acclamations which 
the populace are ever ready to bestow on great and glorious characters ; and 
the court received him with marks of the greatest respect. 

A second expedition, consisting of seventeen ships and fifteen hundred 
men, was now fitted out, and sailed from Cadiz under the command of Co- 
lumbus on the 25th of September, 1493. On this voyage he discovered 
Jamaica and many of the Caribbee Islands. 

In 1498 Columbus made a third voyage, and in this expedition he 
discovered the mainland of the American Continent near the mouth of the 
Orinoco, and explored the coast of the provinces, since called Para and 
Cumana. He was not aware of the true nature of his discovery, but 
supposed that the South American coast was a part of a large island 
belonging to Cathay or Farther India. 

In the meantime gold had been discovered in Hayti, and crowds of 
adventurers were drawn hither from Spain. They inflicted great hardships 
upon the natives, and when Columbus arrived he found the affairs of the 
colony in a most deplorable state. The sovereigns at length sent over a 
commissioner named Bobadilla to investigate the affairs of the colon3\ He 
was a narrow-minded, incompetent man, and instead of investigating the 
charges against the admiral, arrested him, and sent him back to Spain in 
irons. When the ofiScers of the ship which bore him back home wished to 
remove his fetters, he refused to allow them to do so, saying, "I will wear 
them as a memento of the gratitude of princes." The news of this outrage 
filled the people of Spain with honest indignation. "All seemed to feel it as a 
national dishonor," says Prescott, "that such indignities should be heaped 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY COLUMBUS. 41 

upon the man, who, whatever might be his indiscretions, had done so much 
for Spain, and for the civilized world." 

Queen Isabella at once ordered his fetters to be struck off, and he was 
summoned to court, reinstated in all his honors, and treated with the highest 
consideration. Isabella gained from the king a promise to aid her in doing 
justice to the admiral, and in punishing his enemies ; but Ferdinand, who 
could never bear to do a generous or noble act, evaded his promise, and the 
admiral failed to receive his just recompense. 

Shipwrecked on the Coast of Jamaica. 

In 1504 Columbus sailed on his fourth voyage; his object this time 
being to find a passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, by which 
he might reach India. He explored the Gulf of Honduras, and saw 
the continent of North America, but was compelled by the mutin}^ of his 
crew and by severe storms to abandon his attempt and return to the north- 
ward. He was shipwrecked on the coast of Jamaica, where he remained 
more than a year. 

Returning to Spain in November, 1505, he found his best friend, Queen 
Isabella, on her death-bed. The enemies whom his great success had raised 
up for him were numerous and powerful, while he was now old and broken 
in health. He vainly sought from Ferdinand a faithful execution of the 
original compact between them ; but though he received fair words and 
promises in abundance from the king, Ferdinand steadily refused to comply 
with the just demands of the admiral. 

On the last voyage of Columbus the Spaniards were so harsh and 
unjust to the Indians that they refused to bring in the supplies on which 
it may be said the lives of the visitors depended. Columbus led them to 
do so by appealing to their superstition. He foretold an eclipse of the 
sun, which, proving true, they were so terrified that they hastened to do his 
will. In addition to these trials, Columbus suffered very much from the 
diseases that had rooted themselves in his system. At last relief vessels 
arrived, and he set sail for Spain, landing, after a tempestous voyage, at 
Seville, September 7, 1504. 

Disease was making rapid inroads on the brave old navigator, who had 
undergone such vicissitudes of fortune. He had overcome obstacles that 
would have crushed ordinary men ; he had quelled mutinies and faced 
perils innumerable by land and sea; but he could not beat off the attacks 



42 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY COLUMBUS. 

which came with increasing 3^ears. When he reached Seville he was too 

ill to go to court, and his son Diego was 

sent forward to attend to his interests. 

The feeble admiral was treated kindly and 

with great honor. In May, 1505, he was 

removed to the court at Segovia, and thence 

to Valladolid, growing steadily weaker in 

body all the time. 




NATIVES ASTONISHED BY THE ECLIPSE OF THE SUN. 



The last document- 
ary note of Columbus is 
in a final codicil to his 
will, made at Valladolid, 
May 19, 1506. This he 
wrote and signed with 
his own hand. The next 



day he passed away. He was quietly buried at Valladolid; but, some 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY COLUMBUS. 43 

time later, liis bones were removed to tlie Carthusian monastery of Las 
Cuevas, Seville, wliere tlie remains of his son Diego were also subsequently- 
laid. In 1536 the bodies of father and son were exhumed and taken across 
the ocean to San Domingo (Hispaniola), where they were buried in the 
cathedral. There they remained until 1 795-1 796, when, on the cession of 
the island to the French, the ashes were again exhumed, and with great 
state and ceremony, transferred to the cathedral of Havana, where they 
now remain. This male issue of Columbus ended with the third genera- 
tion, and the estates and titles were transferred b}^ marriage to the scion 
of the house of Braganca. 

Columbus lived to experience the ingratitude of the sovereigns whom 
he had so faithfully served. They sought to deprive him of the reward 
they had promised ; and it was onl}'- by a long and expensive lav/suit that 
his son succeeded at last in establishing his rights and founding a noble 
family, whose descendants are still among the highest grandees of Spain. 

Story of Columbus and the Egg. 

Columbus's readiness and address are well illustrated by the following 
anecdote : " Soon after Columbus's return from his first voyage, a splendid 
entertainment was proposed, to which he was invited, again to recount the 
particulars of his voyage in a more familiar and detailed manner than he 
had done before. There were many of the courtiers who secretly envied 
the good fortune of Columbus, and tried to disparge his success, by hint- 
ing that anybody might have done the same thing — that there was nothing 
very marvellous in discovering a western world — that if he had not done 
it, somebody else would ; that the thing was, after all, by no means 
dif&cult. 

" Upon this Columbus took up an ^%%^ and civilly asked those present if 
the}^ could make it stand on either of its ends. The courtiers tried, and 
tried, and tried again without success ; and, after a while, were forced to 
give up the point. ' You see,' said Columbus, * it is impossible.' Colum- 
bus then gave the ^'g^ a slight blow on one end, so as just to break in the 
shell. The ^"gg stood immediately. ' There,' said he, ' it is possible after 
all ; but I found out the way to do it, which none of you could.' The 
queen laughed heartily, and declared that Columbus was the victor." 




CHAPTER IV. 

ADVENTURES OF DE SOTO AND OTHERS. 

)FTKR the discovery of the Western world by Columbus, the 
principal European nations who made discoveries were the 
Hnglish, the French, the Spanish and the Dutch. 

It was under the reign of the politic, though cruel, Henry 
VII. of England, that the shores of the United States were 
explored. The names of the Cabots should be remembered by American 
citizens Avith that of Columbus, for they equally form connecting links 
between our history and that of Europe. John Cabot, a native of Venice, 
had, with his family, settled in England. He and his renowned son, 
Sebastian, were men of great learning, enterprise and ability. By a com- 
mission of Henry VII., dated March 5th, 1496 (the oldest American state 
paper of England), they had authority to discover any heathen countries 
not before known to Christians. They, defraying the expenses of the voy- 
age, were to possess these countries as the king's lieutenants, paying him 
one-fifth of all gains. 

They sailed from England in May, 1497, and in June discovered the 
Island of Newfoundland, which they called Prima Vista. Steering north- 
ward, the}^ made the first discovery of the continent on the coast of Lab- 
rador. On their return they pursued a southerly direction to an uncertain 
distance. 

Sebastian Cabot sailed a second time — reached Labrador, thence turning 
southerl}^, and became the discoverer of the coast of the United States, 
along which he proceeded as far as the southern latitude of Maryland. It 
is much to be regretted that so few particulars remain on record of these 
two voyages, which form so fundamental a portion of our history. 

Smitten by the common passion of the sovereigns of Europe for 
American discover}^, Francis I., of France, turned aside alike from his 
elegant and his warlike pursuits, and one year before his defeat at Pavia 
he found for his service another Italian discoverer. This was John Verra- 
zani, a Florentine, who reached the continent in the latitude of Wilmington, 

44 



ADVENTURES OF DE SOTO AND OTHERS. 45 

North Carolina. He then sailed fifty leagues south, but finding no con- 
venient harbor, he returned and cast anchor ; being the first European who 
had afforded the astonished natives the spectacle of the white race. They 
were received with rude, but fearless hospitality. 

The French looked with wonder upon the wild costume of the natives, 
made of the skins of animals, and set off by necklaces of coral and gar- 
lands of feathers. As they again sailed northward along the coast, their 
senses were regaled by the verdure of the forests, and the perfume of the 
flowers which they scented from the shores. 

At a fine harbor, supposed to be that of Newport in Rhode Island, 
Verrazani remained fifteen days, and there found " the goodliest people he 
had seen." From thence he followed the northeastern shore of New Eng- 
land, finding the inhabitants jealous and hostile. From the peninsula of 
Nova Scotia he returned to France, and wrote a narrative of his voyage, 
which is the earliest original account of the coast of the United States. 

Discovery of Canada. 

James Cartier was, however, the mariner to whose discoveries the French 
trace the extensive empire which they possessed in North America. Cartier, 
after a prosperous voyage of twenty days, made Cape Bonavista, the most 
easterly point of Newfoundland. Sailing around the northeastern extremity 
of the island, he encountered severe weather and icy seas. Then, stretching 
to the southwest, he discovered on St. Lawrence's day, the noble gulf which 
bears the name of that saint. In July he entered a bay which, from the 
heats of the rapidly changing season, he named Des Chaleurs. Coasting 
thence to the small bay of Gaspe, he there landed and reared a cross, upon 
which he hung a shield bearing the arms of France, in token that the 
country was thenceforth a part of its domain. Boisterous weather soon 
obliged him to return. 

In 1535 he sailed on a second voyage, entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 
proceeded up the river to which he gave the same name, and anchored at 
an island, which, abounding in grapes, he named Bacchus Isle, now the Isle 
of Orleans. He continued his voyage to the island of Hochelaga; when 
mounting on an eminence where his spirit was gladdened by the actual 
view of a beautiful region he had before seen in vision, he gave it the name 
of Mont Real. It was then the resort of native tribes, whose language 
proved them to be Hurons. 



46 ADVENTURES OF DE SOTO AND OTHERS. 

He returned to the isle Bacchus, built a fort, aud there suffered not 
only the unwonted rigors of winter, but the attacks of the scurvy, a terrible 
malady, to which many of his company fell victims. He returned in the 
spring with dreary accounts of the country, which, however, he named New 
France. It was also called Canada, but at what time, or whether from any 
significance in the word, is not known. 

Fort Built on the Site of Quebec. 

France now possessed a country in the New World, through which 
flowed a river, more majestic than any in Europe. To hold sway over so 
extensive a region, though a wilderness, seemed to Francis De La Roque, 
of Roberval, more honorable than to govern a small and cultured domain 
in Picardy ; and he obtained from the king full authority to rule, as viceroy, 
the vast territory around the bay and river of St. Lawrence. Cartier was 
necessary to him, and received the title of chief pilot and captain-general 
of the enterprise. The prisons were thrown open to find persons willing to 
become their colonists. 

Nothing good could be expected from such beginnings. Cartier sailed 
up the St. Lawrence, built a fort near the site of Quebec, and there spent 
a winter, in which he had occasion to hang one of his company, put several 
in irons, and "whip divers women as well as men." In the spring he took 
them back to France, just as Roberval arrived with supplies and fresh 
emigrants. By him, however, nothing permanent was effected ; and after a 
year, he abandoned his viceroyalty, and, cured, at least for a time, of his 
inordinate ambition, he returned to Picardy. 

Coligni, the distinguished high admiral of France, sent out, under the 
command of John Ribault, well known as a brave and pious Protestant, 
two ships laden with conscientious Huguenots, or Protestants, many of whom 
were of the best families in France. They made land in the delightful 
clime of St. Augustine; and on the 1st of May discovered the St. John, 
which they called the river of May. Sailing along the coast northeasterly, 
they at length fixed on Port Royal entrance. There they built a fort, and 
in honor of the king of France, called it Carolina, a name which is pre- 
ser\^ed in the appellation of two of our States. Ribault left there a colony, 
and returned to France. 

The commander of the fort provoked a mutiny, and was slain. The 
colonists longed for home. They put to sea without suitable provisions, 



ADVENTURES OF DE SOTO AND OTHERS. 



47 



and, forlorn and famishing, were found by a British vessel and were carried 
by it to England. 

The persevering Coligni soon after sent out another colony under 
Laudouniere, a seaman of worth and intelligence. Upon the banks of the 
river of May, with psalms of thanksgiving, they made their dwelling-place 
and erected another fort, called also Carolina. The next year Ribault 
arrived with vessels containing emigrants 
and supplies ; and, taking the command, 
the colony seemed happily planted. 

To bring together the discoveries of 
the same nation, we go back fifty years 
in the order of time. It is impossible 
at this day to conceive how much our 
knowledge of the geography of the earth 
has diminished the marvellous, so rife 
in the times of which we treat. Won- 
derful discoveries were continually ex- 
pected, for such had already been made, 
and human hope is ever in advance of 
reality. 

John Ponce de Leon, a Spanish soldier 
who had once voyaged with Columbus, had 
received an impression common in those 

times, that there existed in the New World Fernando de soto. 

a fountain whose waters had power to arrest disease, and give immortal 
youth. The aged Ponce set forth to seek it, and to conquer a kingdom. 
He searched among the Bahama Islands, then steered to the northwest. On 
Easter Sunday, called by the Spaniards Pascua Florida, and a little north 
of the latitude of St. Augustine, he discovered what he deemed a land of 
flowers, so brilliant were the forest trees. The fountain of life was not there ; 
but Ponce took possession of the country in the name of the Spanish king, 
and called it Florida. 

The part of South Carolina in the vicinity of the Combahee River 
was soon after visited by a Spaniard, Vasquez De Ayllon. The country 
was named Chicora, and the river, the Jordan. De Ayllon had two ships. 
He invited the natives to visit them, and while the unsuspecting throngs 
stood upon his deck, he hoisted sail, and in a moment they became miser- 




48 



ADVENTURES OF DE SOTO AND OTHERS. 



able slaves, torn from their families, and condemned to ceaseless toil. De 
Ayllon obtained afterwards a commission to conquer tlie country, but the 
hostility of the natives could not be overcome, and numbers of Spaniards 
perished in the fruitless attempt. 

By an unsuccessful effort of the Spaniards under the adventurer Nar- 
vaez, to conquer Florida, and the adjoining country, an army of three hun- 
dred Spanish, partly mounted cavaliers, wasted away till but four or five 
returned; and those not until after incredible wanderings and hardships. 




SPANIARDS DESCENDING THE MISSISSIPPI AFTER THE DEATH OF DE SOTO. 

They, however, insisted that Florida was the richest countr}^ in the 
world ; and Ferdinand De Soto, already famous as the companion of Pizarro, 
the cruel conqueror of Peru, and ambitious to be in conquest equally great, 
listening to the marvelous tales of the wanderers, obtained a commission 
from Charles V. to conquer Florida at his own cost. His reputation gave 
him followers ; and with high hopes he sailed to Cuba, of which he had 
been made Governor ; and there adding to his armament, he landed in 
1539 at Bspirito Santo in Florida, with six hundred soldiers ; an army 



ADVENTURES OF DE SOTO AND OTHERS. 49 

far greater in numbers and much, better appointed than that with which 
Cortez conquered Mexico. 

He expected to find mines and cities of gold ; and being from time to 
time deluded by the natives, he pursued these shadows, which ever fled as 
he approached. He went north, crossed the Alleghany Mountains, then 
marched southerly to Mobile, where he fought a bloody battle with the people 
of a walled city containing several thousand inhabitants. At Pensacola he 
met ships from Cuba, with supplies for his exhausted army ; and too 
proud to be wise, he still pursued a phantom, rather than retrace a false step. 

The hope of the precious metals still lured him on, and he now bent 
his course to the northwest, and in latitude thirt3^-four degrees discovered 
the majestic Mississippi. He continued west until he reached the Wachita, 
when, becoming at length dispirited, he turned homewards his course, 
descended that stream to its junction with the Red River, and thence down 
its current ; and where the Red mingles its waters with the Mississippi, 
there he died ; and his body, inclosed in a hollow oak, was committed to 
the broad stream, from the discover}' of which he derives his unenviable fame. 

The Oldest City in America. 

The ofS.cer who succeeded him in command, conducted the poor 
remains of the army down the Mississippi, seeking a place, where, no 
longer perpetually watched by concealed savage foes, he might once more 
" sleep out his full sleep." 

AVhen the news reached Spain that Florida had been colonized by 
French Huguenots, Philip II. found in Pedro Meleudez de Aviles a fit 
agent of his own bigoted spirit ; and he gave him the double commission 
to take possession of that country, and to destroy the heretics. More than 
five hundred persons accompanied IMelendez, among whom were men with 
their families, soldiers, mechanics and priests. Coming upon the coast south 
of the settlement, he discovered the harbor of St. Augustine on the day of 
that saint ; and here was now laid the foundation of the city of that 
name, the oldest by more than forty years, of any within the limits 
of our Republic. 

The French had received from Melendez the terrible notice that he had 
come to destroy every person who was not a Catholic. Ribault, supposing 
that the Spaniards would make the attack by sea, embarked to meet them. 
A tremendous storm drove him from his track, and shipwrecked his whole 



50 ADVENTURES OF DE SOTO AND OTHERS. 

fleet The Spaniards, meantime, crossed the forest and attacked by land 
Unprepared and snrprised, the defenseless fort soon snrrendered; when cruel 
bigotry performed her murderous work upon ail-without distinction of age 
or sex. The shipwrecked mariners were afterwa'rds found, feeble anc 

exhausted upon the 
shore. Meleiidez in- 
vited them to come to 
him and trust to his 
compassion ; they 
came — and he slew 
them 1 

When the news 
of this cruel massa- 
cre crossed the At- 
lantic, a cry of ven- 
geance reached the 
French monarch, for 
the blood of nine 
hundred butchered 
subjects, but it was 
unheeded. Yet so 
deep was the feeling 
among the people of 
France, that three 
3'ears afterwards, in- 
dividuals headed by 
the gallant chevalier 
Gouges, made a de- 
scent on the settle- 
ment of Florida and 
put to death tw^o 
THE RENOWNED EXPLORER, SIR MARTIN FROBiSHER. hundred Spaniards. 

The Spanisli colony was thus checked, but it was not destroyed ; and it proved 
to be the first permanent settlement made by Europeans upon the shores 

of our Republic. 

Though England had made no effort to colonize America during the 
long period we have been considering, she never abandoned her claims to 




ADVENTURES OF DE SOTO AND OTHERS. 61 

that region, claims which, were based upon the discoveries and explorations 
of John and Sebastian Cabot. The voyages of her fishermen to Newfound- 
land kept the country fresh in the minds of the sea-faring Englishmen, 
and from time to time voyages were made to the American coast for the 
purpose of trading with the savages. Under Elizabeth, who pursued the 
wise policy of fostering her navy, a race of hardy and daring sailors grew 
up in England, and carried the flag of their country into every sea. 

A Cargo of Worthless Dirt. 

In this reign Martin Frobisher with two small ships made a voyage 
to the frozen regions of Labrador in search of the northwest passage. He 
failed to find it, but penetrated farther north than any European had yet 
gone, A. D. 1576. His second voyage was made the next 3^ear, and was 
undertaken in the hope of finding gold, as one of the stones he had brought 
home on his first cruise had been pronounced by the refiners of London to 
contain the precious metal. 

The fleet did not advance as far north as Frobisher had done on his 
first attempt, as a large mass of yellow earth was found which was believed 
to contain gold. The ships were loaded with this, and all sail was made 
for home, only to find on reaching England that their cargo was but a 
heap of worthless dirt. A third vo3^age with fifteen ships was attempted 
in 1578, but no gold was found, and the extreme northern latitudes were 
ascertained to be too bleak for colonization. 

The idea of discovering gold in America seems to have been constantly 
in the mind of the various discoverers who, at this period, commanded ex- 
peditions. High hopes were entertained of finding untold wealth in the 
new world, and when such attempts failed, evil reports were naturally carried 
back by the disappointed adventurers. 




CHAPTER V. 

STORY OF SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 

)HE history of English colonization in America begins with two 
remarkable men, Sir Humphrey Gilbert and his brother-in-law, 
Sir Walter Raleigh. The English monarchy claiming the 
country, in virtue of the discovery of Sebastian Cabot, Queen 
Elizabeth, the reigning sovereign, gave to Sir Humphrey Gil- 
bert, in 1578, b}'- an open or patent letter, "all such remote, heathen and 
barbarous lands," as he should discover in North America, and of which 
he should take possession ; these lands not having been before occupied by 
any other Christian power. 

She vested in him and his heirs the full right of j^roperty in the soil, 
and also the complete right of jurisdiction over those countries, and the 
seas adjoining them ; declaring that all who settle there should enjoy the 
privileges of free citizens and natives of England ; and finally, she pro- 
hibited all persons from attempting to settle within two hundred leagues 
of any place which Sir Humphre)', or his associates, should have occupied 
for the space of six 3^ears. For these privileges the patentee was to 
acknowledge the authority of the crown of England as supreme, and pay 
to the sovereign one-fifth of all the gold and silver which should be obtained 
from these countries. 

In the first attempt made by Gilbert to plant a colon}^, he put to sea, 
but was obliged to returu. In the second, he reached St. John's, in New- 
foundland, where he took possession of the country for his sovereign by 
raising a pillar inscribed with the British arms. He next sought means to 
secure to the English the fisheries on the banks, which were now so valuable 
as to be contested by different European nations. From thence he sailed 
southwesterl}^^ till he reached the latitude of the mouth of the Kennebec. 
Here the largest of his three vessels struck, and all her crew perished. 

Gilbert now finding it impossible to proceed, set his face towards Eng- 
land, keeping in the smallest of his remaining vessels, a barge of only ten 
tons ; for his generous heart refused to put anj^- to a peril he was himself 

52 



STORY OF SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 



53 



unwilling to share. Tlie passage was storni}^, but his pious mind found 
comfort in the reflection which, as he sat reading in the stern of his barge, 
he uttered to his companions in the larger vessel : '' we are as near heaven 
at sea, as on land;" and he might have added, in the words of that book 
which was doubtless in his hand, " Ye shall seek me in the morning, but 
I shall not be ;" for in the night the lights of his little bark suddenly 
vanished, and he was heard of no more. 

The bold and energetic Raleigh, who had in France been a pupil of 
Coligni, pursued with unabated ardor the 
great career in which Gilbert had wasted 
his fortune, and lost his life. From his 
courtly demeanor and brilliant genius. Sir 
Walter had made himself a favorite with 
the stately Queen, and he readily gained 
from her a patent, with privileges no less 
ample than those which she had granted 
to his brother. 

Raleigh had learned from the unsuc- 
cessful emigrants of France the superior 
mildness and fertility of the south, and 
thither he dispatched two vessels under 
Philip Amidas and Arthur Barlow. They 
approached the shore at Pamlico Sound, 
and, according to their florid descriptions, 
were regaled with " the delicate smell of 
the flowers " far off at sea ; and on landing 
in Ocracok, or Roanoke Island, they found the grapes so abundant on the 
coast, that the surges of the sea often washed over them. 

The natives were as kindly as their climate and soil. The king's son, 
Granganimo, came with fifty of his people and received them with dis- 
tinguished courtesy. He invited them to his dwelling at twenty miles 
distance on the coast ; but when they went it chanced he was not at home. 
His wife came out to meet them, and with a hospitality which no instance 
of civilized life can surpass, she ordered some of her people to draw their 
boat ashore to preserve it, and others to bring the Englishmen on their 
backs through the surf Then, conducting her guests to her home, she 
had a fire kindled, that they might dry their clothes, which were wet with 




SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 



54 STOR\' OF SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 

rain ; while in another room she spread a plentiful repast of fish, venison, 
esculent roots, melons and fruits. As they were eating, several Indians, 
armed with bows and arrows, entered. She chid the^, and sent them away, 
lest her visitors should suffer from alarm. 

When the navigators returned to England, and made to Elizabeth their 
report of this delightful region, she was induced to give it the name of 
Virginia, as a memorial that the happy discovery had been made under a 
virgin queen. The name soon became general throughout the coast. 

Raleigh now found many adventurers ready to embark in his project; 
and in 1585 he fitted out a squadron of seven ships, under the command 
of Sir Richard Grenville, w^ho followed the course of Amidas and Barlow, 
and touched at the same islands ; in one of which he cruelly burned a 
village, because he suspected an Indian of having stolen a silver cup. He 
then left a colony under Captain Lane at the island of Roanoke. The 
colonists, reduced to great distress for want of provisions, the next 3'ear 
were carried to England by Sir Francis Drake, who was returning from a 
successful expedition against the Spaniards in the West Indies. 

A Crew that was never Heard From. 

Soon after their departure they were sought by a ship which had been 
sent by Raleigh with supplies, and afterwards by Sir Richard Grenville. 
He, not finding them, most unwisely left fifteen of his crew to keep posses- 
sion of the island, and then returned to England. Of this small number 
nothing was afterwards heard. Probably they were destroyed by the injured 
and revengeful savages. 

The account of Virginia furnished by the colonists to Sir Walter 
Raleigh was such as to encourage that enterprising speculator to make 
another attempt. The faults of the previous expedition were now apparent, 
and could be guarded against. It was true that the Indians were not to be 
relied on, and that their hostility had resulted in a verj^ serious disaster; 
but the country itself was a prize worth winning. Raleigh, therefore, 
determined on an effort of a more elaborate character. This time the male 
emigrants should be accompanied by their wives and children, and a real 
colony, not merely a settlement of explorers, should be formed. To the 
community thus about to be created. Sir Walter granted a charter of 
incorporation, and at the same time established a municipal government for 
a contemplated city, which was to be called after the great adventurer himself. 



STORY OF SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 55 

The governor was to be one John White, and nnder him were placed 
'■.welve assistants. The fleet of transport ships consisted of three vessels, 
all fitted out at the charge of Raleigh, for the queen declined to bear any 
portion of the expense. Implements of husbandr}' were supplied to the 
emigrarits ; and when the ships set sail from Portsmouth, on the 26tli of 
April, 1587, it might well have seemed that fortunate da3'S were in store for 
the part}'. The}^ arrived off the coast of North Carolina in Jul}^, and, on 
reaching Roanoke Island, made search for the fifteen men left there the 
3''ear before by Sir Richard Grenville. But all was desolate and solitary. 

A few human bones lay scattered about, and, at the north end of the 
island, the fort erected b}' Lane was found levelled M'itli the earth. The 
dwelling-houses of his men were still standing ; but the lower rooms were 
overgrown with melons, already springing up in rank luxuriance under the 
enchantment of that exquisite climate; and deer were couched within, 
feeding on the fruit which there were no hands to gather. 

Killed by Arrows and Clubs. 

This was far from an encouraging commencement ; but the colonists 
set to work repairing the houses and building new ones. They had not been 
there man}' days when one of the twelve assistants of Governor White was slain 
by a party of savages who came over to Roanoke, and, hiding themselves 
among the tall reeds on the shore, transfixed the poor Englishman (who was 
alone, and two miles away from his comrades) with sixteen arrows, and then 
beat in his head with clubs. Captain White returned to England to solicit 
supplies for the colony. Before he departed, his daughter, Mrs. Dare, gave 
birth to a female infant, the first child of English parents born in America. 
The infant was baptized by the name of Virginia. 

The attempts made by Raleigh for the relief of this colony were 
unremitted, but unsuccessful ; for at this time the Spanish Armada threatened 
to overwhelm England itself; and three years elapsed before he could procure 
the means of sending Captain White to their relief It was then too late. 
Not one remained ; nor, though repeatedly sought, has any clue to their fate 
ever been found. Appalled and in danger of perishing himself. White 
returned, without leaving one English settler on the shores of America. 

In consequence of the unfortunate issue of these attempts, Raleigh was 
easily induced to assign his right of property, together with all the privi- 
leges contained in his patent, to a company of merchants in London. This 




56 



MURDER OF WHITE'S ASSISTANT BY THE INDIANS. 



STORY OF SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 57 

company, satisfied with a paltry traffic with the natives, made no attempt 
to take possession of the country. 

In 1602 Bartholomew Gosnold, with thirty-two men, sailed from Fal- 
mouth, and steering due west, he was the first English commander who 
reached the country by this shorter and more direct course. He approached 
the coast near Nahant, but failing to find a good harbor, he bore to the 
south, discovered and gave name to Cape Cod, which was the first ground 
in New England ever trod by Englishmen. Thence sailing round Nan- 
tucket, he discovered and named Martha's Vineyard, entered Buzzard's Bay, 
and, finding a fertile island, he gave it, in honor of the Queen, the name 
of Elizabeth. Near its western shore, on an islet in a lake, he built a 
fort and storehouse, and prepared to leave there a small colony. But the 
natives became hostile, and his intended settlers would not remain. Having 
freighted his vessel, mostly with sassafras root, then much esteemed in 
pharmacy, he hoisted sail and reached England with all his men, after a 
passage of five weeks, the shortest then known. 

Expedition Sent to America by France, 

France, wasted by her wars, had for fifty years neglected her claims to 
territory on the western continent. At length she sent out an expedition, 
and attempted to plant a colony. This expedition discovered and named the 
rivers St. John and St. Croix, and sailed along the coast as far as Cape Cod. 

The English becoming alarmed at this encroachment on territory which 
they claimed, James I,, the successor of Elizabeth, divided that portion of 
North America which lies between the 34th and 45tli degree of North lati- 
tude into two districts nearly equal ; granting the southern part, or first 
colony of Virginia, included between the 34th and 41st degrees, to a com- 
pany of merchants called the London Company ; and the northern or second 
colony of Virginia, included between the 38tli and 45th degrees, to another 
corporation, called the Plymouth Company. The king authorized these 
companies to make settlements, provided they were not within one hundred 
miles of each other, and vested them with a right of land along the coast, 
fifty miles each way, and extending into the interior one hundred miles 
from the place of settlement. 

The London and Plymouth companies prepared to take possession of 
the lands which had been assigned to them. The first vessel fitted out by 
the Plymouth Company, in 1606, was taken by the Spaniards, In 1607 



58 STORY OF SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 

they sent out Admiral Raleigh Gilbert, with a hundred planters, under 
Capt. George Popham, their president. The}' landed at the mouth of Ken- 
nebec river, where the}^ built and fortified a storehouse ; but in two or three 
months the ships returned to England, leaving only forty-five men. The 
sufferings of the colony, under Capt. Popham, were, through the winter, very 
severe. They lost their storehouse by fire, and their president by death, 
and the next 3'ear returned to England, considering the country " a cold, 
barren, mountainous desert," where, in the quaint language of that period, 
they declared " they found nothing but extreme extremities." This was the 
first and only attempt to settle this part of the country till 1620. 

Thus, after a period of one hundred and ten years, from the time of 
Cabot's discoveries, and twenty-four years after Raleigh planted the first 
colony, there was not, in 1607, an Englishman settled in America. The 
wilderness was not inviting to those who had been accustomed to a country 
long settled and furnishing all the conveniences and luxuries of civilized 
life. The American savages w^ere not always to be depended upon and on 
account of some real or fancied injury were ready to take revenge on the 
unprotected settlers. It was but natural that the imigrants should feel the 
separation from their former home and friends. These causes all operated 
to retard the settlement of the new country. Still, America was not destined 
to long remain a territory unoccupied by Europeans. " Westward the course 
of empire took its wa}^" 




CHAPTER VI. 

CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS. 

)N 1607 the London Compan}^ sent out Captain CHristoplier Newport, 
with three ships and one hundred and five men, among whom was 
the navigator, Gosnold, and Captain John Smith, the Father of 
Virginia. He was already celebrated for his daring and chivalrous 
exploits, to which he was led by the love of adventure and of 
glory, and by a desire to serve 
both God and man. In boyhood 
he fought for freedom in Holland; 
and thence traveled over France, 
Egypt and Italy. In Hungary 
he bravely met the Turks in bat- 
tle, and was promoted to com- 
mand. In presence of the ladies 
particularly, he ever showed him- 
self a brave knight, and was often 
conqueror in single combats. He 
was repeatedly taken prisoner, and 
already, both in Turkey and in 
Russia, had been rescued from 
destruction by female benevolence. 
The fleet sailed by the West 
Indies, and being driven north of 
Roanoke by a storm, an accidental 
discovery was thus made of the captain john smith. 

entrance of the Chesapeake Bay, the boundaries of which were now named 
Capes Charles and Henry, in honor of the king's sons. Stretching at once 
into the noble bay, the adventurers sailed up the Powhatan river, to which 
they gave the name of the James, and upon its banks, fifty miles from its 
mouth, they fixed their residence, and raised a few huts. The place was 

called Jamestown, an appellation which it still retains ; and though it has 

59 




60 CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS. 

never risen to wealth or distinction, and is now only discernible by a few 
falling rnins, still it was the first of the English settlements in the New 
World ; and hence has all the honor among the American states that 
antiqnity can confer and is regarded with nnnsual interest. 

Rights Denied to the Settlers. 

The colony was nnder charter government, the instrument having been 
drawn up by James himself. It did not give to the proprietors the power 
to govern the people who should settle the country, but the right of 
jurisdiction was reserved to the king. To the colonies no assurance was 
given, but the vague promise that they should continue to be Englishmen. 
Religion was established by law, according to the forms and doctrines of 
the church of England. There was, for the present, no division of property; 
and, for five years, all labor was to be for the benefit of the joint stock. 

The government Avas to be administered by a council nominated by the 
king, but to reside in the colony. As soon as the emigrants landed, the 
king's commission, according to his direction, was opened ; the council was 
organized, and a governor elected. They chose Edward Wingfield, their 
worst man ; while Smith, their best, was, from envy, to be excluded even 
from a seat in the council, although he was one whom the king had 
nominated. Gathering misfortunes, however, and the kindly influence of 
their good clergyman, Robert Hunt, reversed this sentence, and made the 
colonists glad to submit to the man whose talents and zeal for the settle- 
ment marked him as their natural head. 

The neighboring Indians soon annoyed the colony b}^ their petty 
hostilities. Their provisions failed, and the scanty allowance to which they 
were reduced, as well as the influence of a climate to which they Avere not 
accustomed, gave rise to disease, so that the number of the colonists rapidly 
diminished. Sometimes four or five died in a day, and there was not 
enough of the well to give decent burial to the dead. Fifty perished before 
winter, among whom was the excellent Gosnold. The energy and cheerful 
activity of Smith threw the only light which glanced upon the dark picture. 
He so managed as to awe the natives, and at the same time to conciliate 
and obtain from them supplies of food ; while, among the emigrants he 
encouraged the faint-hearted and put in fear the rebellious. Winter at 
length came, and with it relief from diseases of climate, and plentiful sup- 
plies of wild fowl and game. 



CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS. 



61 



The London company, witH an ignorauce of geography, which even 
then was surprising, had given directions that some of the streams flowing 
from the northwest should be followed up in order to find a passage to the 
South Sea. Smith was superior to the company in intelligence, but he 
knew the duties of a subordinate, and he therefore prepared to explore the 
head waters of the Chickahomiu}^, which answered as nearly as possible 
to their description. 

Powhatan, the chief or emperor of the savage confederacy inhabiting 
or wandering about the waters of the James and its tributaries, had been 
visited by the colonists early after their 
arrival. His imperial residence consisted 
of twelve wigwams near the site of Rich- 
mond. Next to him in power was his 
brother, Opechacanough, who was chief of 
the Pamunkies on the Chickahominy. 
Smith embarked in a barge on that 
river, and when he had ascended as far 
as possible in this manner, he left it, 
with the order that his party should not 
land till his return ; and with four attend- 
ants he pursued his objects twenty miles 
farther up the river. 

The Indians had watched his move- 
ments, and when the men left in the 
barge, disobeying his order, had landed, 
they fell upon them, took them prisoners, and obliged them to discover the 
track of their captain. He, in pursuit of game, soon found himself hunted 
by swarms of savage archers. In this extremity he bound to his breast, 
as a shield, an Indian j^outh who was with him ; and then shot three 
Indians, wounded others and kept the whole part}^ at ba3^ Attempting to 
retreat to his canoe while yet watching his foe, suddenly he sank to his 
middle in an oozy creek. The savages dared not even then touch him, till, 
perishing with cold, he laid down his arms and surrendered. 

They carried him to a fire, near which some of his men had been 
killed. By his Indian guide and interpreter he then called for their chief. 
Opechacanough appeared, and Smith politely presented to him his pocket 
compass. The Indians were confounded at the motions of the fly-needle, 




POCAHONTAS. 



62 CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS. 

whicli, on account of the mysterious glass, they could see, but could not 
touch. He told them wonderful stories of its virtues, and proceeded, as he 
himself relates, " by the globe-like figure of that jewel, to instruct them, 
concerning the roundness of the earth, and how the sun did chase the 
night round about the world continually," by which his auditors were filled 
with profound amazement. 

Their minds seemed to labor with the greatness of the thought, that 
a being so superior was in their power ; and they vacillated in their opinion 
whether or not it was best to put him to death ; and as often changed their 
conduct. They took him to Powhatan, thence led him round from one 
wondering tribe to another, until, at the residence of Opechacanough, these 
superstitious dwellers of the forest emploj^ed their sorcerers or powows for 
three days to practice incantations, in order to learn, from the invisible 
world, whether their prisoner wished them well or ill. 

Smith's Life Saved by Pocahontas. 

The decision of his fate was finally referred to Powhatan. At his 
residence that majestic savage received him in state, but he condemned 
him to die. His warriors were around, and his women sitting near him. 
All were painted with gaudy colors and adorned with feathers. The queen 
of Apamattuck brought the captive water to wash in, and another Indian 
queen feathers to serve as a towel. Others gave him food, as for a feast. 
Then two stones were brought and laid before the chief, and two savages 
stood with uplifted war-clubs. Smith was dragged to the spot, and his 
head placed upon the stones. Pocahontas, his daughter, of tender age, 
rushed forward, and with cries and tears begged of Powhatan to spare 
him. He refused. The devoted girl then ran and knelt beside the victim, 
and laid her j^oung head upon his. Then the stern savage relented, 
and Smith was saved. 

It cannot be doubted that the extraordinary boldness and audacity of 
Smith often prevented disasters by striking a panic into the savages. One 
day towards the latter end of 1608, he and fifteen others went to Pamunkey, 
with a view to obtaining supplies of Opechacanough, from whom he had 
been led to expect some assistance. The savages appeared with a warlike 
array, but with so poor a stock of provisions that it was not worth having. 

Smith, suspecting treachery, addressed his followers first, and, having 
obtained their promise to stand fast even in the greatest danger, challenged 



CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS. 



63 






■''X 

f 






the chieftain and his companions to fight him and his men openly ; the 

Indians to stake a large 
quantity of corn, and the 
Englishmen an equal value 
in copper; the conqueror 
to take all. He was an- 
swered by fair speeches, 
but it was found that 
the wigwam was beset by 
armed men, with their bows 
ready prepared for shooting. 




CAPTAIN SMITH S FIGHT WITH AN INDIAN CHIEF. 

Angered at the manifest intention of the savages, Smith seized 
Opechacanough by the long lock which Indians wear in front of their 



64 CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS. 

heads, presented a pistol to liis breast, and dragged liim out into the midst 
of liis armed followers, whom he reproached with vtheir design, daring them 
to shoot him, and vowing to exterminate the whole tribe if one of his men 
were hurt. At the same time he professed his friendly intentions, if he 
were allowed to trade peacefully for their commodities. This produced the 
desired effect, and good-will was again established for the time being. 

Smith having now learned much of the Indians, their country, modes 
of warfare, dispositions and language, and having also by his great address 
and honorable bearing, won their affection and confidence, his visit to the 
chief proved, under divine Providence, a means of establishing the colony. 
During his absence, however, there had been disorder and misrule ; and 
when he returned to Jamestown he found only thirty-eight person remaining. 
The spirits of the people were broken; and all, filled with despondency, 
were anxious to leave a country so inhospitable. He prevailed upon them, 
however, partly b}^ force and partly by persuasion, to remain till the next 
year, when Newport arriving from England with some supplies and one 
hundred and twenty emigrants, hope again revived. 

A Po-werful Indian Tribe. 

During the 3'ear 1C08 Captain Smith explored the Chesapeake Bay to 
its head, discovered its fine streams, and gained new information concerning 
the native productions and inhabitants of the countr3^ In an excursion 
which he made iip the Rappahannock, he had a skirmish with the Manna- 
hoacks, a tribe descended from the Delawares, and took prisoner a brother 
of one of their chiefs. From him he first heard of the Iroquois, who, the 
Indian told him, "dwelt on a great water to the north, had a great many boats, 
and so many men that they waged war with all the rest of the world." 

Immediately on his return he was chosen president of the council. 
He found the recent emigrants "goldsmiths and gentlemen." But he 
promptly gave them their choice, to labor for six hours a da}^ or have 
nothing to eat. He represented to the council in England that they should 
send laborers ; that the search of gold should be abandoned, and that 
"nothing should be expected except by labor." 

Pocahontas repeatedly saved the life of Smith, and preserved this 
earliest English settlement from destruction. In the various fortunes of 
the colony, she was its unchanging friend, often coming with her attendants 
to bring baskets of provisions in times of scarcity, and sometimes giving 



CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS. 65 

notice of hostile designs. On one occasion, wlien Captain Smith, with a 
considerable escort, had visited her father, and was to be feasted, she came 
privately, and told him that a great number of Indians would be sent to 
bring in his food, and would, if possible, such was the plot, murder him 
and his company at table, with their own arms. Otherwise it was intended 
to kill them in the night. Smith was penetrated with gratitude, that she 
had again saved him, and ^vished to give her some testimonial. She turned 
away with tears, saying it would but betray her, and she was suspected already. 

Famine and Death in the Colony. 

At length a calamity deprived the colony of its father. An accidental 
explosion of gunpowder so injured Smith that no medical skill there was 
adequate to the treatment of his case ; and, delegating his authority to 
George Percy, brother to the Karl of Northumberland, he returned to 
England. After his departure all subordination and industry ceased among 
the colonists. The Indians, ever on the watch, harassed them with hostilities, 
and withheld their customary supplies. 

Their stores were soon exhaused. The domestic animals, which had 
been sent to breed in the countr}^, were taken and devoured : and, in the 
extremity of their distress, they even perpetrated, in two instances, the act 
of feeding on human flesh. Smith left four hundred and ninety persons. 
In six months anarch}^ and vice had reduced the number to sixt}^, and those 
so feeble and forlorn that in ten days more they must all have perished. 

In the meantime Sir Thomas Gates and his companions, who had been 
wrecked on the rocks of Bermuda, had found there the means to construct 
a vessel ; and now approaching Jamestown, they anticipated a happy meeting 
with their friends. How were their hearts smitten as they beheld the 
meagre spectres of famine and death which met them! They were obliged 
to yield to the universal cr}^, desert the settlement, and re-embark with 
the whole colon}^ 

They departed in the morning, and, falling down the stream with the 
tide, they descry at evening, near the river's mouth, three ships, and Lord 
Delaware, their paternal governor, arrives, supplies their wants, and turns 
their hearts to the pious and consoling thought that God had delivered 
them. And then this residue returned, a chastened and a better people. 
Thus Providence prevented a dissolute band from becoming the founders of 
our first settled State, and gave a better seed. 



66 



CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS. 



The colony again became comparatively flourisliing, but in Marcb, 
1611, the governor's health unfortunately declined, and he was obliged to 







FLIGHT OF THR INDIANS AFTER THE MASSACRE. 

leave the country. On the departure of Lord Delaware, Percy was again 
at the head of the administration, until the arrival of Sir Thomas Dale, m 
May. Dale had received from the company power to rule with martial law, 



CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS. 67 

wHich he exercised, but witli such moderation, that good order and industry- 
prevailed. The state of the colony, however, was not flourishing, and Dale 
immediately wrote to England for aid. In less than four months, Sir 
Thomas Gates arrived, with six ships and three hundred emigrants. 

After Captain Smith's departure. Captain Argall, at the head of a 
foraging party, learned that Pocahontas was for a season with the family 
of Japazaws, the chief of the Potomacs. Him, Argall bribed, with a kettle 
of shining copper, to betray the Indian princess, whom for interested motives 
he wished to make prisoner. Japazaws concerted with his wife that she 
should appear to be seized with an invincible desire to visit Argall's vessel 
lying in the river. He was to affect anger, and threaten, but at length so 
far to relent as to engage to take her to the vessel if her friend Pocahontas 
would accompany her. The plot succeeded, and thus the English, by the 
goodness of her heart, ensnared and made prisoner their benefactress. 

The Indian Maiden Wedded. 

When she was taken to Jamestown an unceremonious message was 
sent to Powhatan, that he must ransom her with certain men and articles, 
which he was accused with having taken. To this the dignified old chieftain 
made no reply for three months. In the meantime an English youth of 
the colony, John Rolfe, wooed the Indian maiden, and obtained her consent to 
marriage, the connection proving a bond of union during the life of Powhatan. 

Pocahontas received Christian baptism under the name of Rebecca; 
after which she went with her husband to England, where special attention 
was paid her by the king and queen, at the instigation of Smith. She 
had been told that he was dead, and when he came to see her she turned 
away, and for a time could not or would not speak. He kindly soothed 
her, and at length she addressed him as her father, and endearingly recalled 
the scenes of their early acquaintance. Having given birth to a son, she 
was about to return, when she sickened and died, at the age of twenty-two. 
Her son survived and reared an offspring, which being perpetuated in some 
of the best families of Virginia, they boast their descent from one who ranks 
high, not merely on the roll of savages and of women, but of humanity itself 

On the twenty-second of March, 1622, a general attack was made by 
the savages upon all the settlements of the colony. On the previous night 
the plot had been revealed to a converted Indian named Chauco, who at 
once hastened to Jamestown and gave warning of the danger. The alarm 



^8 CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS. 

spread rapidly to the nearest settlements, but those at a distance could not 
be reached in time to avert their fate. Those settlements which had been 
warned were able to offer a successful resistance to their assailants, and 
some of those which were surprised beat off the Indians ; but the number 
of victims, men, women and children, who fell this day amounted to three 
hundred and forty-seven. All these were slain, and their fate would have 
been shared by the whole colony but for the warning of the friendly Indian. 

The effect upon the colony was appalling. The distant plantations had 
been destroyed by the savages, and out of eighty settlements eight alone 
survived. These, and especially Jamestown, were crowded be3'ond their 
capacity with fugitives who had fled to them for shelter. Sickness soon 
began to prevail, the public works were discontinued, and private industry 
was greatly diminished. A gloom rested over the entire colony, and the 
population fell off. 

At the end of two years after the massacre, the number of inhabitants 
had been reduced to two thousand. Much sympathy was manifested for 
the suffering colonists by the people of England. The city of London sent 
them liberal assistance, and private individuals subscribed to their need. 
King James was aroused into an affection of generous sympathy, and sent 
over to the colony a supply of muskets which had been condemned as 
worthless in England. 

The whites recovered from their gloom, and on their part began to 
form plans for the extermination of their foes. During the next ten years 
expeditions were sent against the Indians at frequent intervals. The object 
kept sternly in view was to either destroy the savages altogether, or 
force them back from the seaboard into the interior. As late as 1630 
it was ordered by the General Assembly that no peace should be made 
with the Indians. 




CHAPTER VII. 

STORY OF THE VIRGINIA COLONY. 

►N 1644, the aged Opechacanougli once more struck for the inherit- 
ance of his forests, by another attempt to cut off, simultaneously, 
the scattered colonial population. Scarcely had the warfare begun, 
and the English aroused to resistance, when the Indians were 
struck with panic and fled. The Virginians pursed them vigor- 
ously and killed three hundred. The chief was taken prisoner, then 
inhumanly wounded. His proud spirit suffered from his being kept as a 
public spectacle, and he welcomed relief by death. 

Charles I. had perished on the scaffold ; and the powerful mind of 
Cromwell led the polic}^ of England. To promote her commercial pros- 
perity, he continued, and perfected a system of colonial oppression in 
respect to trade, by the celebrated " Navigation Act." By this the colonies 
were not allowed to find a market for themselves, and sell their produce to 
the highest bidder, but were obliged to carry it direct to the mother coun- 
try. The English merchants bought it at their own price ; and thus they, 
and not the colonist, made the profit on the fruits of his industry. At the 
same time the act prohibited any but English vessels from conveying 
merchandise to the colonies ; thus compelling them to obtain their supplies 
of the English merchant, of course at such prices as he chose to fix upon 
his goods. Even free traffic among the colonists was prohibited. 

Charles II. was restored in 1660. Berkeley, after various changes, 
was at the moment exercising the office of Governor under the authority 
of the Assembly of Virginia, by whom he had been elected. The fires of 
rejoicing were kindled in the province, and Berkeley changed his style, 
and issued his mandates in the name of Charles. The monarch afterwards 
confirmed him in his office. 

Berkeley was accused of favoring the Indians for the sake of the 
monopoly in the beaver-trade, and the settlers resolved that if he would not 
protect them, they would protect themselves. They went sullenly to their 

homes ^ and awaited what they knew was certain to come. 

69 




70 



THE ATTACK ON THE DOEG WIGWAM. 



STORY OF THE VIRGINIA COLONY. 71 

Some months later, several persons on their way to church came upon 
a mortally-wounded settler in front of his own door, while a friendly Indian 
lay dead a few feet away. The neighbor lived long enough to say that 
some Doeg warriors were the cause of their deaths. The alarm quickly 
spread, and in a brief while thirty men had taken the trail and were in hot 
pursuit. Crossing the river twenty miles above the trail forked, and the 
pursuers divided into two parties. 

Bloody Conflicts with the Indians. 

One of these speedily came upon a Doeg wigwam, and here the pur- 
suers killed eleven of the Indians. It is more than likely they were the 
murderers. Almost at the same time the other party discovered a wigwam 
and opened fire, without waiting to ask questions. After killing fourteen 
it was found they were not Doegs, but Susquehannocks. However, the settlers 
concluded they had avenged the death of their neighbor and went home. 

The surrounding tribes were roused to fury. The peril was so immi- 
nent that Virginia and Maryland sent out a force of a thousand men under 
Major Thomas Truman, of Maryland, and Colonel John Washington, of 
Virginia, great-grandfather of George Washington. They surrounded a strong 
fort on the Piscataway, in which the Susquehannocks had taken refuge, 
with their women and children. Before opening fire, six of the chiefs were 
called out for a conference. They denied that any of their tribe had 
harmed the whites, saying that the Senecas, who had fled northward, were 
the offenders. Major Truman was satisfied and assured them they should 
suffer no harm. 

The Virginians thought the major was too credulous. The next day, 
when the mutilated bodies of a settler and his family, that had recently 
been murdered, were brought into camp, the infuriated soldiers seized five 
of the chiefs who had come out for another conference, and put them to 
death. This piece of treachery filled the authorities in Maryland and 
Virginia with indignation. Truman was tried by the Maryland legislature, 
and found guilty of causing the death of the five Indians contrary to the 
laws of God and of nations. When Washington took his seat in the 
Virginia assembly at Jamestown, Governor Berkeley in his opening address 
pointedly rebuked him. This was the only punishment Washington received, 
and the records do not show what was done with Truman, when found guilty. 

Again the Indians were aroused to deeds of atrocity. The}'- assailed 



72 STORY OF THE VIRGINIA COLONY. 

the settlers along tlie Rappahannock, James and York rivers, with the fury 
of wild beasts, killing more than fifty during the following winter. 

The people awoke in their might. They desired to organize for self- 
defense, and in a peremptory manner demanded for their leader Nathaniel 
Bacon, a popular young lawyer. Berkele}^ refused to grant him a commis- 
sion. New murders occurring. Bacon assumed command, and with his 
followers departed for the Indian war. Instigated by the aristocracy, Berke- 
le}'' declared him and his adherents rebels. 

The People Again Aroused. 

The people, in a fresh insurrection, required of the governor the election 
of a new house of burgesses ; and he was forced to submit. Bacon having 
returned from his expedition, was elected a member for Henrico county. 
Popular liberty now prevailed, and laws were passed with which Berkeley 
was highly displeased. Bacon, fearing treachery, withdrew to the countr}'. 
The people rallied around him, and he returned to Jamestown at the head 
of five hundred armed men. 

Berkeley met them, and, baring his breast, exclaimed, " a fair mark, 
shoot." Bacon declared that he had come only for a commission, their 
lives being in danger from the savages. The commission was issued, and 
Bacon again departed for the Indian warfare. Berkeley in the meantime 
withdrew to the seashore, and there collecting numbers of seamen and 
loyalists, he came up the river with a fleet, landed his army at Jamestown, 
and again proclaimed Bacon and his party rebels and traitors. 

Bacon having quelled the Indians, only a small band of his followers 
remained in arms. With these he hastened to Jamestown, and Berkeley 
fled at his approach. In order that its few dwellings should no more 
shelter their oppressors, the inhabitants set them on fire, the owners of the 
best houses applying the match with their own hands. Then leaving that 
endeared and now desolated spot. Bacon pursued the royalists to the Rap- 
pahannock, where the Virginians, hitherto of Berkeley's party, deserted and 
joined his standard. His enemies were at his mercy ; but his exposure to 
the night air had induced disease, and he died. 

The party of Bacon, now without a leader, broke into fragments, and 
the royalists were again in the ascendant. As the principal adherents of 
Bacon, hunted and made prisoners, were one by one brought before Berkeley, 
he adjudged them, with insulting taunts, to instant and ignominious death. 




CHAPTER VIII. 

THE SETTLEMENT OF MARYLAND. 

)0 go back a little in our liistor}^, previous to the events narrated 
in the preceding chapter, Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, 
and the hero of his age, formed, in 1627, the project of sending 
to America a colony of his subjects from Sweden and Finland. 
About ten 3^ears afterwards, in 1638, they came over headed by 
Peter Minuets, and settled at Christiana Creek, on the west side of the 
Delaware, calling that river Swedeland stream, and the country. New Sweden. 
Though this was the first effectual settlement, yet the Dutch had, in 
1629, purchased of the natives a tract of land extending from Cape Henlopen 
to the mouth of the Delaware river. A small colony conducted by De 
Vries came from Holland, and settled near Lewiston. They perished by 
the savages ; but the Dutch continuing to claim the country, dissensions 
arose between them and the Swedish emigrants. 

In 1631 William Claj^borne obtained from Charles I. a license to traffic 
in those parts of America for \vhich there was not already a patent granted. 
Claybonie planted a small colony on Kent island, in Chesapeake Bay, 
opposite to the spot where Annapolis now stands. 

George Calvert, afterwards Lord Baltimore, had represented, in the 
Hnglish Parliament, his native district of Yorkshire. The favor of the 
monarch and the principal ministers had been manifested by influential 
appointments at court ; but these he resigned to make a public profession 
of the Roman Catholic faith. To enjoy his religion unmolested, he wished 
to emigrate to some vacant tract in America. He had fixed on Virginia 
as a desirable location, and accordingly made a visit to that colon\% The 
people there would not encourage a settlement, unless an oath was taken, 
to which he could not in conscience subscribe. Finding he must seek an 
asylum elsewhere, he explored the country to the north, and then returned 
to England. The Queen, Henrietta Maria, daughter to Henry IV. of 
France, gave to the territory the name of Maryland, and Lord Baltimore 
obtained it by a royal patent. 



74 



THE SETTLEMENT OF MARYLAND. 



He died in London in 1632, before his patent passed to a legal form; 
but his son, Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, by the influence of 
Sir Robert Cecil, obtained the grant intended for his father. By this patent 
he held the country from the Potomac to the 40th degree of north latitude ; 

and thus, by a mere act of 
the crown, what had long 
before been granted to Vir- 
ginia was now taken away ; 
as what was now granted 
was subsequently given to 
Penn, to the extent of a de- 
gree. Hence long and ob- 
stinate altercations ensued. 
Lord Baltimore appoint- 
ed as governor his brother, 
Leonard Calvert, who, with 
two hundred emigrants, 
sailed for America near 
the close of 1633, and ar- 
rived at the Potomac early 
in 1634. Here they pur- 
chased of the natives Ya- 
maco, one of their settle- 
ments, to which was given 
the name of St. Mary. 
Calvert thus secured by a 
pacific course comfortable 
habitations, some improved 

CECIL, LORD BALTIMORE. ^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^j^^ friendship 

of the natives. Other circumstances served to increase the prosperity of 
the colony. The country was pleasant, great religious freedom existed, and 
a liberal charter had been granted, which allowed the proprietor, aided by 
the freemen, to pass laws, without reserving to the crown the right of 
rejecting them. Emigrants accordingly soon flocked to the province from 
the other colonies and from England. 

Thus had the earliest settlers of this beautiful portion of our country 
established themselves, without the sufferings endured b}^ the pioneers of 




THE SETTLEMENT OF MARYLAND. 



75 



lormer settlements. The proprietary government, generally so detrimental, 
proved here a nursing mother. Lord Baltimore expended for the colonists, 
within a few years, forty thousand pounds ; and they, " out of desire to 
return some testimony of gratitude," voted in their assembly "such a sub- 
sidy as the low and poor estate of the colony could bear." 

Lord Baltimore invited the Puritans of Massachusetts, of whom we 
shall read later, to emigrate to Maryland, offering them "free liberty of 




MOCK SUNS, SEEN BY EARLY EXPLORERS. 

religion." They rejected this, as they did a similar proposition from Crom- 
well, to remove to the West Indies. The restless, intriguing Clayborne, the 
evil genius of IMaryland, had been constantly on the alert to establish a 
claim to the country, and to subvert the government of the good proprietary. 
In his trafiic with the natives he had learned their dispositions, and he 
wrought them to jealous hostility. In England the authority of the long 
Parliament now superseded that of the king, and those who derived their 
authority from him ; and of this, not only Clayborne, but other disorderly 
subjects of Lord Baltimore, were inclined to take undue advantage. Thus 
the fair dawn of this rising settlement was early overcast. 



76 THE SETTLEMENT OF MARYLAND. 

In 1621 Sir Francis Wyatt arrived as governor, bringing from the 
company in England a more perfect and permanent constitution for the 
colony. The power of making laws was vested in the general assembly. 
No regulations, however, could be enforced until they had received the 
sanction of the general court of the company in England. At the same 
time the orders of the company were not binding upon the colony, without 
the sanction of their assembly. These liberal concessions not only gratified 
the settlers, but encouraged emigration; and a large number accordingly 
accompanied Governor Wyatt to the province. This year cotton was first 
planted in Virginia, and "the plentiful coming up of the seed," was regarded 
by the planters with curiosit}^ and interest. 

Butchering Men and Women. 

Opechacanough, the brother and successor of Powhatan, had determined 
to extirpate the whites, and regain the country for its savage lords. For 
this purpose he formed a conspiracy to massacre all the English ; and 
during four years he was, with impenetrable secrecy, concerting his plan. 
To each tribe its station was allotted, and the part it was to act prescribed. 
On the 22d of March, 1622, at midday, they rushed upon the English in 
all their settlements, and butchered men, women, and children, without pity 
or remorse. In one hour nearly a fourth part of the whole colony was cut 
off. The slaughter would have been universal, if compassion, or a sense of 
duty, had not moved a converted Indian to whom the secret was communi- 
cated, to reveal it to his master on the night before the massacre. This w^as 
done in time to save Jamestown and the adjacent settlements. 

A bloody war ensued. The English, by their arms and discipline, were 
more than a match for the Indians, and they retaliated in such a manner 
as left the colonists for a long time free from savage molestation. They 
also received considerable accessions of lands by appropriating those of 
the conquered natives. 




CHAPTER IX. 

THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS. 

)N 1592 a law was passed requiring all persons to attend tlie 
established worship, under penal t}^ of banishment, and if they 
returned, of death. Among those who could not conscientiousl}^ 
comply with these exactions were John Robinson and his congre- 
gation, of the sect of Separatists, in the north of England. 

To enjoy their religion, the pastor and his whole flock determined to 
exile themselves to Holland. But this was a diffictat undertakine. Once 
they embarked with their families and goods at Boston, in Lincolnshire. 
But the treacherous captain had plotted with English officers, who camj on 
board the vessel, took their effects, searched the persons of the whole 
company for money, and then, in presence of a gazing multitude, led them 
on shore and to prison. They were soon released, except seven of the 
principal men, who were detained and brought to trial, but at length freed. 

Again they bargained with a Dutch shipmaster at Hull, who was to 
take them in from a common hard by. At the time appointed the women 
and children sailed to the place of rendezvous in a small bark, and the men 
came by land. The bark had grounded ; but the Dutch captain sent his 
boat and took the men from the strand. But, in the meantime, the authorities 
of Hull had notice ; and the Dutch commander, at the sight of a large 
armed companj^, having a fair wind, with oaths " hoisted anchor and away," 
though the Pilgrims even wept, thus to leave their wives and children. 

Behold these desolate women, the mothers of a future nation, their 
husbands forcibly carried off to sea, while on land an armed multitude are 
approaching! They are taken, and dragged from one magistrate to another, 
while their children, cold and hungry and affrighted, are weeping and 
clinging around them. But their piteous condition and Christian demeanor 
softened at length the hearts of their persecutors, and even gained friends 
to their cause 

The men, in the meantime, encountered one of the most terrific sea- 
storms ever known, continuing fourteen da3^s, during seven of which they 

77 



iS THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS. 

saw neither sun, moon or stars. At length they all arrived in Holland. 
They settled at first in Amsterdam. They did not, however, find cause to 
be satisfied, and they removed to Leyden. Here, by hard labor and frugal 
honesty, they lived highly respected ; but after a few years they experienced 
evils which made them think of another removal. Not only were their own 
toils constant and severe, but they were obliged to employ their children, 
so that these were necessarily deprived of education. And the health of 
the young often fell a sacrifice to the length of time and confined positions 
in which they labored. Some died, and some became deformed. 

Choosing the Wilderness for a Home. 

Their morals also were likely to suff"er from the habitual profanation 
of the Sabbath, which they must necessarily witness, and especially from 
contact with a disbanded soldiery, at this time residing at Leyden. The 
Pilgrims had heard of America, and in its wilderness they believed they 
might serve God unmolested, and found a church, where not only the 
oppressed in England, but unborn generations, might enjoy a pure worship. 
The Dutch wished them to colonize under their government. But they 
loved their country, though she had shaken them from her lap ; and they 
sent agents to England to procure, by the influence of Sir Edwin Sandys, 
a patent under the Virginia Company. 

By the aid of Sandys the petitioners obtained the patent. But they 
needed money. To provide this their agents formed a stock company, 
jointly, with some men of business in London, of whom Mr. Thomas 
Weston was the principal ; they to furnish the capital, the emigrants to 
pledge their labor for seven years, at ten pounds per man ; and the profits 
of the enterprise, all houses, lands, gardens and fields, to be divided 
at the end of that time among the stockholders, according to their 
respective shares. 

They then prepared two small vessels, the Mayflower and the Speed- 
well ; but these would hold only a part of the company, and it was decided 
that the younger and more active should go, while the older, among whom 
was the pastor, should remain. If they were successful they were to send 
for those behind ; if unsuccessful to return, though poor, to them. 

Previous to their separation this memorable church worshipped together 
for the last time, on an appointed day, when they humbled themselves by 
fasting, and '* sought of the Lord a right way for themselves and their 



THE LANDING OF THE PHGRIMS. 79 

cliildren." When tliey must no longer tarry, their brethren accompanied 
them from Leyden to the shore of Delft-Haven. Here the venerable pastor 
knelt with his departing flock around him ; and the wanderers, while tears 
rolled down their cheeks, heard for the last time, his beloved voice in 
exhortation and in prayer for them. " But they knew they were Pilgrims, 
and lifted up their eyes to heaven, their dearest country, and quieted their 
spirits." From Delft-Haven they sailed to Southampton in England. 

Among the leaders of the party was Elder Brewster, who at this time 
was fifty-six, but sound in body as in spirit. Of the seven who were taken 
at Boston, it was Brewster who was most severely dealt with. John Carver 
was near his age, beloved and trusted, as he was good and wise. William 
Bradford was strong, bold and enduring ; but withal, a meek and prudent 
Christian. Next these, in honor, superior in native endowments, as in 
estate and family descent, was Edward Winslow. He was at this time 
twenty-six. Bradford was thirty-two. Allerton and Hopkins were also lead- 
ing men. Miles Standish had been an officer in an army, sent by Eliza- 
beth to aid the Dutch against the Spaniards ; and he, as was the case 
with Winslow, falling in with Robinson's people about three years before 
their removal from Holland, accompanied them to America. 

Last Look of their Native Land. 

After remaining in Southampton a fortnight, the Pilgrims put to sea. 
But misfortunes befalling they returned, left the Speedwell, and finally, to 
the number of one hundred, they set sail from Plymouth, in the solitary 
Mayflower. On the 6th of September they took their last, sad look of their 
native shore. After a storm}"- and perilous passage they made land on the 
9th of November, at Cape Cod. The mouth of the Hudson had been 
selected as the place of their settlement, and they accordingly steered 
southerly ; but soon falling in with dangerous breakers, and all, especially 
the women, being impatient to leave the ship, they determined to return 
and settle on or near the Cape. The next day they turned the point 
of that singular projection, and entered the harbor now called Provincetown. 

They fell on their knees to thank the kind Power who had preserved 
them amidst so many dangers, and then " they did," says Cotton Mather, 
" as the light of nature itself directed them, immediately, in the harbor 
sign an instrument as. the foundation of their future and needful govern- 
ment ;" solemnly combining themselves in a civil body politic, to enact all 



80 THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS. 

such ordinances, and frame all such constitutions and offices, as from time 
to time should be thought most meet and convenient for the general good ; 
all which they bound themselves to obey. 

This simple, but august compact, was the first of a series by which 
the fetters of a vast system of political oppression have been broken. Upon 
some parts of the old continent that system still remains, building upon 
the fiction that sovereigns own the world and its inhabitants, having derived 
all from God, and that the people are to have only such a measure of 
personal freedom and such possessions as kings may choose to bestow. 
Here was assumed for the first time the grand principle of a voluntary 
confedei^acy of independent men, instituting government for the good, not 
of the governors, but of the governed. 

First Encounter with the Savages. 

There were the same number of persons on board the Mayflower as 
had left England; but one, a servant, had died, and one, a male child, 
Peregrine White, was born on the passage. Carver was immediately chosen 
governor, and Standish captain. 

No comfortable home or smiling friends awaited the Pilgrims. They 
who went on shore waded through the cold surf to a homeless desert. But 
a place to settle must be found, and no time was to be lost. The shallop 
unfortunately needed repairs, and in the meantime a party set out to make 
discoveries b}^ land. They found " a little corn and many graves ;" and in 
a second excursion they encountered the chilling blasts of a November 
snow-storm, which laid in some the foundation of mortal disease. The 
country was wooded, and tolerably stocked with game. 

When the shallop was finished Carver, Bradford and Winslow, with a 
party of eighteen, manned the feeble bark and set forth. Steering along 
the w^estern shore of Cape Cod they made, in three days, the inner circuit 
of the bay. "It was," says one of the number, "very cold, for the water 
froze our clothes, and made them mau}^ times like coats of iron." They 
landed occasionally to explore; and at night, inclosed with onl}^ a slight 
barricade of boughs, they stretched themselves upon the hard ground. 

On the second morning, as their devotions closed, they received a 
shower of Indian arrows, when, sallying out, they discharged their guns, 
and the savages fled. Again they offered prayers with thanksgiving; and 
proceeding on their way, their shallop was nearly wrecked by a wintry 



THE LANDING OF THE PHGRIMS. 



81 



storm of terrible violence. After unspeakable dangers, they sheltered 
themselves under the lee of a small island, where, amidst darkness and 
rain, they land, and with difficulty make a fire. In the morning they 
find themselves at the entrance of a harbor. The next day was the 
Sabbath. They rested and kept it holy, though all that was dear to them 
depended on their promptness. 

The next day, the 22d of December, a day ever to be observed in the 
annals of New 



England, the Pil- 
grims landed on 
the rock of Ply- 
mouth. Finding 
the harbor good, 
springs abundant, 
and the land pro- 
mising for tillage, 
they decided to 
settle here, and 
named the place 
from that which 
they last left in 
England. In a 
few days they 
brought the May- 
flower to the har- 
bor, and began 
building, having 
first divided the 
whole community 
into nineteen fam- 
ilies, and assigned — 
them contiguous '^^^ " Mayflower" in Plymouth harbor. 

lots, of size according to that of the family, about eight feet front and fifty 
deep to each person. Each man was to build his own house. Besides 
this, the company were to make a building of twenty feet square, as a 
common receptacle. This was soonest completed, but was unfortunately 
destroj^ed by fire. 




82 THE LANDING OF THE PHGRIMS. 

Their huts weut up but slowly, for though their hearts were strong, 
yet their hands had grown feeble through fatigue, hardship and scanty 
fare, and many were wasting with consumptions. Daily some yielded to 
sickness, and daily some sunk to the grave. Before spring half of their 
number, among whom were the governor and his wife, lay buried on the 
shore. Yet they never repined, or repented of the step they had taken ; 
and when, in April, the Mayflower left them, not one so much as spoke 
of returning to England ; but they rather confessed the continual mercies of 
a " wonder-working Providence," which had carried them through so many 
dangers, and was making them the honored instruments of so great a work. 

Welcome from an Indian Chief. 

The Pilgrims had as yet seen but few of the natives, and those hostile, 
when Samoset, an Indian who had learned a little English at Penobscot, 
boldly entered their village, with a cheerful " Welcome Englishmen." He 
soon came again, with four others, among whom was Tisquantum, who 
had spread favorable reports of the English among his countrymen, and 
was afterwards of great service as an interpreter. They gave notice that 
Massasoit, the sachem of the Pokanokets, was hard by. Appearing on 
a hill, with a body of attendants, armed, and painted with gaudy colors, 
the chief desired that some* one should be sent to confer with him. 
Edward Winslow, famed for the sweetness of his disposition and behavior, 
as well as for talents, courage and efficiency, was wisely chosen. Captain 
Standish found means (for neither civil or military organization had been 
neglected) to make a martial show, with drums and trumpets, which gave 
the savages wonderful delight. 

The sachem, on coming into the village, was so well pleased with the 
attentions paid him, that he acknowledged the authority of the King of 
England, and entered into an alliance, offensive and defensive, with the 
colonists, which remained inviolate for more than fifty years. 

In July, Edward Winslow and Stephen Hopkins went on an embassy 
to Massasoit, at Montaup. Their object was to negotiate a traffic in furs, 
and to preserve amity with the natives. Much to his delight they gave 
the sachem a red coat, from Governor Bradford, who had succeeded Car\^er. 
They hinted that his subjects were somewhat too free with their presence 
at Plymouth, though himself and his particular friends should always be 
welcome. They mentioned that on their first arrival they had found a 



THE LANDING OF THE PHGRIMS. 



83 



small quantity of buried com, wliicli iu their necessity they had appro- 
priated, but they now wished to discover and remunerate the owners ; 
and finally, they requested that the Pokanokets would sell their furs 
to the colony. 

Massosoit gathered his council. " Am I not," said he, " commander 
of the country? Is not such a town mine? — and such an one? — going on 
to the number of thirty — and finally, should not all bring their furs to him 
if he wished it?" The Sannops ejaculated a hearty affirmative to each 
successive proposition, and the matter was happily adjusted. The trade 
thus secured to 
the colony proved 
of great conse- 
quence. 

The ship For- 
tune arrived in 
November, and 
brought over as 
many as thirty- 
five persons to 
join the settlers. 
The corn which 
they had found 
in their excur- 
sions from Cape 
Cod providential- 
ly saved them ; 

for they had planted it, and the crop was their dependence, scanty though 
it proved, for their second winter. 

Massasoit feared the Narragansetts, and was doubtless on that account 
desirous of cultivating the friendship of the English. Canonicus, the old 
hereditar}'' chieftain of that confederac}^, perhaps offended at this intimacy, 
or regarding the whites as intruders, meditated a war against them ; which 
he openly intimated by sending to Governor Bradford a bunch of arrows 
tied with the skin of a rattlesnake. Bradford stuffed the skin with 
powder and ball and sent it back ; and nothing more was heard, at 
that time, of war. 

News came to Plymouth that Massosoit was sick. Accompanied by 




TREATY BETWEEN PLYMOUTH COLONY AND MASSASOIT. 



84 THE LANDING OF THE PHGRIMS. 

" one Master Jolin Hampden," believed by some to be the celebrated Eng- 
lisbman c f that name, then on a visit to the colony, Winslow taking suit- 
able articles, went to Montaup. He found the Indians bewailing, and prac- 
ticing their noisy powows or incantations around the sightless chieftain. 
Affectionately he extended his hand and exclaimed. " Art thou Winsnow ?" 
(He could not articulate the liquid 1.) " Art thou Winsnow ? But, O, 
Winsnow! I shall never see thee more." Winslow administered cordials, 
and he recovered. He then revealed a conspiracy which the Indians had 
formed and requested him to join. " But now," said he, '' I know that 
the English love me." He was very grateful for their kindness. 

The Conspirators Put to Death. 

Agreeably to Massasoit's advice, that a bold stroke should be struck, 
and the heads of the plot taken off, the intrepid Standish, with a party of 
only eight, went into the hostile country, attacked a house where the prin- 
cipal conspirators had met, and put them to death. In justice to the 
Indians, it should be stated that they were provoked to this conspiracy by the 
lawless aggressions of "Master Weston's men." These were a colony of 
sixty Englishmen, sent over in June, 1622, by Thomas Weston. Though 
hospitably received at Plj^mouth they stole the young corn from the stalk, 
and thus brought want and distress upon the settlers the ensuing winter 
and spring. They then made a short-lived and pernicious settlement at 
Weymouth. The Pilgrims had been more alarmed at this Indian con- 
spiracy, on account of the horrible news from Virginia, of the great 
Indian massacre there. 

Notwithstanding all the hardships — all the wisdom and constanc}^, of 
the colonists, the partners of the concern in London complained of small 
returns ; and even had the meanness to send a vessel to rival them in 
their trade with the Indians. Winslow went to England and negotiated a 
purchase for himself and seven of his associates in the colou}^, by which 
the property was vested in them ; and they sold out to the colony at 
large, for the consideration of a monopoly of the trade with the Indians 
for six years. 

New Plymouth now began to flourish. For the land being divided, 
each man labored for himself and his family, and not for the public, or for 
distant usurers. Their government was a pure democracy, resembling that 
now exercised in a town meeting. Each male inhabitant had a vote ; the 



THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS. 85 

Governor had two. At first some delicacy was felt, as they had no charter, 
being north of the bounds of the Virginia companj^, but at length they 
proceeded to the exercise of all the powers of self-government. After the 
establishment of the Grand Council of Plymouth, of which mention will 
soon be made, they received from it a charter, by which they exercised 
these rights, under the authorit}^ of Bngland. 

Numbers of their brethren of the church at L/eyden came over within 
the first few years to join the settlement; and AVinslow relates that the 
people of Plymouth gave a thousand pounds to assist them to emigrate. 
But the good Robinson was not permitted to enter the land of his hopes 
and affections. He died in Leyden, 1625, to the great grief of the Pil- 
grims, who had kept their church without a pastor, Klder Brewster offici- 
ating, in hopes, until they heard of his death, again to enjoy his ministra- 
tions. A part of his family came to America. 

Character of the Pilgrims. 

Ten years after its first settlement New Plymouth had three hundred 
inhabitants ; and had no other colony followed, there is every reason to 
believe they would have sustained themselves. Their history forms a 
striking contrast with that of colonies where men were sent b}^ others to 
labor in distant lands, or induced by worldly motives to enlist under 
ambitious leaders. Like the Captain of their Salvation, the Pilgrims were 
self-devoted. No man took from them, but they voluntarily laid down what 
pertained to this life, in the cheerful and assured hope of a better. Faithful- 
ness they regarded as their concern; reward, as that of their Heavenly Master. 

In December, 1620, the same month in which the Pilgrims arrived on 
the American coast, James I. issued a charter to the Duke of Lenox, the 
Marquisses of Buckingham and Hamilton, the Earls of Arundel and Warwick, 
Sir Ferdinando Gorges, and thirty-four associates, styling them the "Grand 
Council of Plymouth, for planting and governing New England in America " 
This patent granted them the territory between the " fortieth and forty-eighth 
degrees of north latitude, and extending throughout the main land from 
sea to sea." This territor}', which had been previously called North 
Virginia, now receiv^ed the name of New England, by royal authority. 

From this patent were derived all the subsequent grants under which 
the New England colonies were settled. But either from sinister motives, 
sheer ignorance of the geography of the country, or reckless disregard to 




v^-KvW/^'^^;;^:i^^._ 



TYPES OF NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 



86 



THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS. 87 

consequences, the affairs of this corporation were transacted in a manner 
so confused that endless dispute and difficulties were occasioned. 

Sir Ferdinando Gorges had been an officer in the navy of Elizabeth, 
and a companion of Sir Walter Raleigh. Various circumstances had bent 
his mind strongly to the ambition of founding a colony in America. Per- 
haps he imagined it would become a principality or a dukedom. He was 
hence the prime mover in getting up the Grand Council of Plymouth, and 
was made its president. Similar motives actuated Captain Mason, and he 
became its secretary. They were simply indulging in delusions. 

More Colonists Arrive from England. 

Mason procured from the Grand Council the absurd grant of "all the 
land from the river of Naumkeag (Salem), round Cape Ann to the mouth 
of the Merrimack, and all the country lying between the two rivers, and 
all islands within three miles of the coast." The district was to be 
called Mariana. 

The next year Gorges and Mason jointly obtained of the council 
another patent of " all the lands between the Merrimack and Kennebec 
Rivers, extending back to the Great Lakes, and river of Canada." This 
tract received the name of Lacaonia. Under this grant some feeble settle- 
ments were made at the mouth of the Piscataqua, and as far up the river 
as the present town of Dover. 

The persecution of the Puritans continued unabated during the reign 
of James I., the successor of Blizabeth, and many of the ablest divines of 
England, obliged to feel the rigor of the law or violate their consciences, were 
wandering in foreign lands or meditating a removal. Among the latter was 
Mr. White, a minister of Dorchester, in the south of England — a Puritan, 
though not a Separatist. Having learned what godly quietness his brethren 
of New Plj^mouth enjoyed, he turned his eyes in that direction, and pro- 
jected another colony to America. Encouraged by him, as early as 1624, a 
few persons established themselves, first at Cape Ann, and afterwards on the 
site of Salem. 

Their representations of the country, together with the solicitation of 
White, induced several gentlemen of Dorchester to purchase of the Grand 
Council of Plymouth, in 1628, a patent "of that part of New England 
which lies between three miles north of the Merrimack River and three 
miles to south of the Charles River, and extending from the Atlantic 



88 THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS. 

to the South Sea." Thus the avaricious council covered by a second grant 
lands which they had already some time previously conveyed by a former 
one to Mason. 

John Kndicott, a rugged Puritan, was the leader; and in Salem began 
the " wilderness-work for the colony of Massachusetts." He brought over 
his family, and other emigrants to the number of one hundred. Roger 
Conant and two others, from New Plymouth, had selected for him this spot, 
then called Naumkeag, for their settlement, and Conant was there to give 
to Endicott and his party such welcome to the New World as the desert 
forest could afford. 

The next year the proprietors obtained of King Charles a charter, 
confirming the patent of the Council of Plymouth, and conveying to them 
powers of government. They were incorporated by the name of the 
" Governor and Company of Massachusetts Bay in New England." The 
first general court of the company was held in England, when they fixed 
upon a form of government for the colony, and appointed Endicott governor. 
About three hundred persons sailed for America during this year, a part of 
whom joined Mr. Endicott at Salem, and the remainder, exploring the coast 
for a better station, laid the foundation of Charlestown. 

John Winthrop Chosen Governor. 

In the meantime other pious Puritans, with similar views to those of 
White, were meditating similar projects in other and opposite parts of 
England. The pious family of the Earl of Lincoln, in the Northeast, 
regarded the religious enterprise with enthusiastic admiration ; as did also 
John Winthrop, a native of the county of Suffolk, and others of rank and 
fortune. A more extensive emigration was now thought of than had been 
before attempted. But an objection arose ; the colony was to be governed 
by a council residing in England. To obviate this hindrance, the company 
agreed to form a council of those who should emigrate, and who might 
hold their sessions thereafter in the new settlement. 

On the election, the excellent John Winthrop was chosen governor. 
He had afterwards for his eulogy a praise beyond that of any other person 
in the colony. " He was," say they, " unto us as a mother, parent-like 
distributing his goods, and gladly bearing our infirmities, yet did he ever 
maintain the figure and honor of his place with the spirit of a true gentle- 
man." The company had determined to colonize only their " best." Eight 



THE LANDING OF THE PHGRIMS. 



89 



hundred accompanied Winthrop, and, during the season, seventeen vessels 
were employed, bringing over, in all, fifteen hundred persons. 

Winthrop and his friends found no luxurious table spread for them 
in the wilderness ; but they freely imparted the stores which they brought 
to the famished and enfeebled sufferers whom they met. Regarding Salem 
as sufficiently peopled, the newly- 
arrived located themselves without 
delay beyond its limits. Their 
first care, wherever they went, was 
to provide for the ministration of 
the gospel. In August Charles- 
town had a church, at the head 
of which was the ardent, eccen- 
tric and benevolent Wilson — ever 
ready to encourage the despond- 
ing, either in poetry or prose. 
Dorchester soon after had a church, 
gathered by Mr. Warhani, who 
afterwards emigrated to Windsor, 
Connecticut. Boston, Roxbury, 
Lynn and Watertown followed 
in their order; so that, at the 
end of two years, Massachusetts 
enjoyed the exceedingly rare dis- 
tinction at that time of having seven churches, supplied with devout and 
learned ministers. 

Unused, as many of this company of settlers were, to aught but plenty 
and ease, the hardships before them, though borne with a willing mind, 
were too much for the body, especially in the case of women. Many died, 
though in the joy and peace of believing. Among these was the beloved 
Arbella Johnson, of the noble house of Lincoln. Her husband, Isaac John- 
son, the principal of the emigrants in respect to wealth, felt her loss so 
severely that he soon followed her to the grave. He made a liberal bequest 
to the colony, and died " in sweet peace." 




JOHN WINTHROP 




CHAPTER X. 

KING PHILIP'S WAR. 

HIIvIP was the younger of the two sons of Massasoit. He had 
become embittered against the English by circnmstances attend- 
ing the death of his brother, which he ascribed to them ; and 
though he was thus left sole chieftain of the Pokanokets, yet 
he deeply felt his loss, and bitterly resented it. The extension 

of the whites had now alarmed the savage 
nations. They remembered that their 
ancestors had reigned sole lords of the 
forest. Now their hunting-grounds were 
abridged; and the deer, the bear, and 
other animals on which they depended 
for subsistence, were frightened away by 
the hum of civilization. 

The new race, whom their fathers re- 
ceived when a poor and feeble band, were 
now gradually spreading themselves over 
the land, and assuming to be its sover- 
eigns. Nothing remained to the native 
savage but to be driven by degrees from 
the occupations and possessions of his 
forefathers, or to arouse, and by a mighty 
effort extirpate the intruders. This was 
the spirit which, emanating from Philip, 
spread itself throughout the various Indian tribes. The Narragansetts, so 
long friendly, were now under the rule of Conanchet, the son of Mianto- 
nomoh, and doubtless he remembered the benefactions which his father had 
bestowed upon the whites, and their refusal to hear his last plea for mercy. 
Philip had not proceeded farther than to work upon the minds of the 
Indians by secret machinations, when Sausaman, one of the natives whom 
Eliot, the famous missionary to the Indians, had instructed in Christianity 
90 




KING PHILIP. 



KING PHILIP'S WAR. 91 

gave to the English intimations of his designs. Sausaman was soon after 
murdered. On investigation, the Plymouth court found that the murder 
was committed by three of Philip's most intimate friends, and forthwith 
they caused them to be executed. 

The savages no longer delayed ; but, on the 20th of June, Philip's 
warriors began by attacking Swansey, in New Plymouth. The colonists 
appeared in defense of the town, and the Indians fled. Receiving fresh 
troops from Boston, the united English force marched into the Indian 
towns, which on their approach were deserted. But the route of the savages 
was marked by the ruin of buildings which had been burned, and by the 
heads and hands of the English, which w^ere fixed upon poles by the wayside. 
The troops finding that they could not overtake them returned to Swansey. 

Reward Offered for the Capture of King Philip. 

The commissioners of the colonies meeting at Boston were unanimous 
in deciding that the war must be prosecuted with vigor, and each colony 
furnished means, according to its ability. Of the thousand men which the}^ 
determined to send immediately into the field, Massachusetts was to furnish 
five hundred and twenty-seven, Connecticut three hundred and fifteen, and 
Plymouth one hundred and fifty-eight. Subsequently the commissioners 
voted to raise double this number. 

The army was sent from Swansey into the country of the Narragansetts,- 
and negotiating, sword in hand, with that confederacy, on the loth of July, 
a treaty of peace was concluded. The commissioners, among other stipula- 
tions, agreed to give forty coats to any of the Narragansetts who should 
bring Philip alive, twenty for his head, and two for each of his subjects, 
delivered as prisoners. The Indian king retreated with his warriors to a 
swamp at Pocasset, near Montaup. There, on the 18th, the colonists attacked 
them, but gained no decisive advantage. Philip then made his headquarters 
with the Nipmucks ; but by the spirit of his destructive movements, he seemed 
to be everywhere present. 

In August it was clear that the Nipmuck Indians, living on the northern 
tributaries of the Thames, were making ready to go upon the war-path, and 
Captain Edward Hutchinson and twenty troopers were sent to hold a con- 
ference with the savages. When near Brookfield they fell into ambush and 
eight w^ere killed and four wounded, Captain Hutchinson being among the 
latter. The survivors managed to reach Brookfield and give the alarm. 



92 KING PHILIPS WAR. 

Bvery one in tlie little village knew what was coming, and the 
inhabitants, numbering less than a hundred, ran pell-mell into the only 
house which was strong enough to offer any chance of defence. The men 
had barely time enough to catch up their guns, sling the strings of their 
powder-horns and bullet-pouches over their necks, when several hundred 
Indians rushed into the village like a cyclone. Their ear-splitting screeches 
filled the air, and the dusky warriors were seen dashing hither and thither, 
many with a musket in one hand and a blazing torch in the other. 

The gleaming knife and tomahawk thrust in the girdle at the waist, 
and the hideously painted faces caused many a mother to shudder and 
press her infant to her breast, while the fathers compressed their lips, raised 
the flints of their muskets, and took careful aim. 

Savage Attack and Heroic Defense. 

Every house was fired except the one in which the settlers had taken 
refuge. Whenever an Indian attempted to steal up to that with a torch 
he was riddled with rifle-balls. No more thrilling incident can be found 
in the early history of our country than the attack and defence of this 
single house at Brookfield. The first volley which the Indians poured into 
the structure mortally wounded one of the men. Another, who ventured 
near enough to be seized, was flung to the earth, his head cut off and kicked 
about for a foot-ball. When tired of this horrible sport the head was stuck 
on a pole and set up in front of his own house. 

Twice a skilled messenger started out in quest of help, but the Indians 
were too watchful, and he \vas barely able to get back in time to save his 
own life. The night which followed was dreadful beyond description. The 
savages were on the alert, darting hither and thither, firing at every open- 
ing that could be detected between the logs, and continuing their efforts to 
destroy the structure by means of firebrands, tied to the ends of long poles. 
The defenders, crowded together so there was barely room to move about, 
were equally vigilant. 

While the tired children slept the mothers peered through the crevices 
and gave their husbands what help they could. Sometimes in the gloom 
a flickering torch revealed the warrior, creeping stealthily among the ruins 
of the building, and a sturdy rifleman sent a ball through his bod}^ The 
savage would leap high in the air with one piercing death-shriek, and that 
was the end of him. 




ATTACK OF THE INDIANS ON BROOKFIELD. 



91 



94 KING PHILIPS WAR. 

Finding such attempts too dangerous the Indians wrapped their arrows 
with burning tow, and launched them against the building, but provi- 
dentially the little twists of flame died out without communicating to the 
wood. The dense darkness was relieved after midnight by the full moon, 
which, however, disclosed an alarming fact : the Nipmucks had heaped a 
a large quantity of combustible stuff at one corner of the building to 
which they set fire. 

Under cover of the marksmen, a number of settlers dashed out and 
scattered the burning material. This was twice repeated. During the 
excitement one of the defenders reached the woods without detection and 
started on a desperate journey to obtain help. He had a long way to 
travel to obtain assistance, and the fate of the defenders was likely to be 
settled before it could reach them. 

Air Filled with Flaming Arrows. 

The attack continued without abatement all that day and the succeed- 
ing night. At times the air was filled with flaming arrows, many of which, 
curving high overhead, came down with such force on the roof that they 
stuck fast, and the smell of burning wood warned those within of their 
danger. Holes were hurriedly chopped through the roof and water dashed 
on the fire — this being repeated again and again until it seemed that one 
party must tire out and stop. 

On the third day it looked to the brave defenders as though all hope 
was ended. A wagon was piled high with flax, hemp, hay, dry wood and 
other inflammable material ; set fire, and then with long poles the savages 
shoved it against the building. When the choking smoke poured through 
the crevices between the logs, and the crackling flames began communi- 
cating, the defenders were in despair ; but, at that terrible moment, a vio- 
lent shower of rain came down, and not only quenched the flames but 
made it impossible to rekindle them. 

During the same day, Major Simon Willard, of Boston, and about fifty 
men, learning of the sore strait of the Brookfield people, made all haste 
thither. The Major, who was fully seventy years old, was on his march 
west, and had to travel thirty miles over a bad road to reach the imperiled 
settlers. He and his soldiers did it in gallant style. The sun was setting 
when they dashed into the town, and without a minute's hesitation they 
went at the Indians right and left. In the course of a few hours not 



KING PHILIP'S WAR. 95 

a live warrior was in the neighborhood. The number killed by the 
Major's party, added to those who had fallen by the bullets of the 
defenders, was eighty. 

Intending to collect a magazine and garrison at Hadley, Captain 
Lathrop, with a corps of the choicest young men, selected from the vicinity 
of Boston, was sent to transport a quantity of corn from Deerfield to that 
place. They were suddenly attacked by the Indians, and, though they 
fought with great bravery, they were almost all cut off. The brook, by 
which they fought, flowed red, and to this day is called " Bloody Brook." 
In October the Springfield Indians, who had previously been friendly, con- 
certed with the hostile tribes, and set fire to that town. While its flames 
were raging they attacked Hadley. 

The Colonists in Great Danger. 

Dreadful beyond description was now the condition of the colonists. 
The object of the Indians was totally to exterminate them, and aimed 
equally at the lives of the armed and the defenseless. They were with- 
held by no restraints of religion, and their customs of war led them to 
the most shocking barbarities. The previous state of peace and security, 
in the course of which the whites had spread themselves over a large 
extent of country, and mingled their dwellings with those of the Indians, 
rendered their situation more perilous. The Indians, thus acquainted with 
their haunts and habits, ambushed the private path, rushed with the dreadful 
war-whoop upon the worshiping assembly, and during the silence of mid- 
night set fire to the lonely dwelling, and butchered its inhabitants. 

When the father of the family was to go forth in the morning he 
knew he might meet his death-shot, as he opened his door, from some foe 
concealed behind his fences or in his barn ; or he might go, and return to 
find his children murdered during his absence. When the mother lay 
down at night, with her infant cradled on her arm, she knew that before 
morning it might be plucked from her bosom, and its brains dashed out 
before her eyes. Such were ever the consequences of savage warfare ; but 
at no time during the settlement of the country were they so extensively 
felt as during the year through which this war continued. 

Conanchet again manifested hostility. In violation of the treaty, he 
not only received Philip's warriors, but aided their operations against the 
English. On the 18th of December one thousand troops were collected 



96 



KING PHILIP'S WAR. 



from the different colonies. Captain Church commanded the division from 
Massachusetts, Major Treat that from Connecticut, and Josiah Winslow, 
of Plymouth, was in supreme command. After a stormy night passed in 

the open air, they 
waded through 
the snow sixteen 
miles, and about 
one o'clock on the 
afternoon of the 
19th they arrived 
near the enemy's 
fortress. 

It was on a 
rising ground in 
the midst of a 
swamp, and was 
so well fortified 
with palisades and 
thick hedges that 
only by crossing 
a log which lay 
over a ravine, 
could it be ap- 
proached. The 
snow was deep, 
but the footsteps 
of the whites were 
providentially di- 
rected to this en- 
trance, and though 
commanded by a 
INDIAN WEAPONS. block-housc forti- 

fied and manned, the officers led the men directly across the narrow and 
dangerous bridge. The first were killed, but others pressed on, and the 
fort was entered. 

Conanchet and his warriors fought with desperation, and forced the 
English to retire; but they continued the fight, defeated the savages, and 




KING PHILIP'S WAR. 97 

again entering the fort they set fire to the Indian dwellings. One thousand 
warriors were killed ; three hundred, and as many women and children, 
were made prisoners. About six hundred of their wigwams were burnt, 
and many helpless sufferers perished in the flames. 

The wretched remains of the tribe took shelter in the recesses of a 
cedar swamp, covering themselves with boughs, or burrowing in the ground, 
and feeding on acorns or nuts, dug out with their hands from the snow. 
Many who escaped a sudden, thus died a lingering death. Conanchet was 
made prisoner in April, and was offered his freedom if he would enter into 
a treaty of peace. The chieftain indignantly refused, and was put to death. 

An Enemy to the Last. 

In the midst of these reverses Philip remained unshaken in his enmity. 
His chief men, as also his wife and family, were killed or made prisoners ; 
and while he wept at these domestic bereavements, with a bitterness that 
evinced the finest feelings of human nature, so averse was he to submission 
that he even shot one of his men who proposed it. After being driven 
from swamp to swamp, he was at last shot near Montaup by the brother 
of the Indian whom he had thus killed. Of the scattered parties which 
remained, many were captured. Some sought refuge at the north. These 
afterwards served as guides to those parties of hostile French and Indians 
who came down and desolated the provinces. 

In this dreadful contest New England lost six hundred inhabitants. 
Fourteen towns had been destroyed, and a heavy debt incurred. Yet the 
colonies had received no assistance from England, and they asked none. 
The humane Irish sent the sufferers some relief. If Philip's war was to 
the whites disastrous, to the savage tribes it was ruinous. The Pokanokets 
and the Narragansetts henceforth disappear from history. 




CHAPTER XI. 

THE GROWING NATION. 

OGER WILLIAMS was a Puritan minister, wlio had been driven 
from England by tbose persecutions for opinion, which, like 
the confusion of languages at Babel, drove men asunder, and 
peopled the earth. When Williams arrived in Massachusetts, 
he proclaimed, that the only business of the human legislator 
is with the actions of man as they affect his fellow-man ; but as for the 
thoughts and feelings of his mind, and the acts or omissions of his life, as 
respects religious worship, the only lawgiver is God ; and the only human 
tribunal, a man's own conscience. 

Hence he condemned as unjust the church-membership restriction of 
the right of suffrage, all laws to compel attendance on devotional exercises, 
and all taxation to support public worship. Great was the astonishment 
caused, and the disturbance made, by what was called this " ill egg of 
toleration." Williams, the eloquent young divine, frank and affectionate, 
had, however, won the hearts of the people of Salem, and they invited him 
to settle with them as their pastor. The general court forbade it. Wil- 
liams withdrew to Plymouth, where he remained as pastor for two years, and 
then returned to Salem, where he was again gladly received by the people. 
The court punished the town for this offense by withholding a tract 
of land to which they had a claim. Williams wrote to the churches, 
endeavoring to show the injustice of this proceeding ; whereupon the court 
ordered, that until ample apology was made for the letter, Salem should 
be disfranchised. Then all, even his wife, yielded to the clamor against 
him ; but he declared to the court before whom he was arraigned, that he 
was ready to be bound, or if need were, to attest with his life, his devo- 
tion to his principles. 

The court pronounced against him the sentence of exile. Winter was 
approaching and he obtained permission to remain till spring. The affec- 
tions of his people revived, and throngs collected to hear the beloved voice, 
soon to cease from among them. The authorities became alarmed, and 
sent a vessel to convey him to England; but he had disappeared. 

98 



THE GROWING NATION. 99 

Now a wanderer in tHe wilderness, he liad not, upon many a stormy 
night, either " food, or fire, or company," or better lodging than the hol- 
low of a tree. At last, a few followers having joined him, he fixed at 
Seckonk, since Rehoboth, within the limits of the colony of Plymouth. 
Winslow was now Governor there ; and he felt himself obliged to com- 
municate to Williams that his remaining would breed disturbance between 
the colonies ; and he added his advice to that privatel}^ conveyed to Wil- 
liams by a letter from Winthrop " to steer his course to Narragansett Bay." 

Generosity of an Indian Chief. 

Williams now threw himself upon the mercy of Canonicus. At first 
the sachem was ungracious. The English, he said, had sought to kill him, 
and had sent the plague among his people. But Williams won upon him 
by degrees, and he extended his hospitality to him and his suffering com- 
pany. He would not, he said, sell his land, but he freely gave to Wil- 
liams, whose neighborhood he now coveted, and who was favored by his 
nephew, Miantonomoh, all the neck of land between the Pawtucket and 
Moshasuck Rivers, " that his people might sit down in peace and enjoy 
it forever." Thither they went, and with pious thanksgiving named the 
goodly place Providence. 

The Dutch and English both claimed to be the original discoverers of 
Connecticut River, but the former had probabl}^ the juster claim. The 
natives along its valley were kept in fear by the more warlike Pequods on 
the east, and the terrible Mohawks in the west ; and hence they desired 
the presence of the English as defenders. As early as 1631, Wahquima- 
cut, one of their sachems, being pressed by the Pequods, went to Boston 
and afterwards to Plymouth, earnestly requesting that an English colony 
might be sent to his country, which he truly described as a delightful 
region. Governor Winthrop declined his proposal ; but Edward Winslow, 
then Governor of Plymouth, favored the project, and visited and ex- 
amined the valle}?-. 

The Plymouth people had been, some time previousl}^, advised b}^ the 
Dutch to settle on Connecticut River ; and they now determined to pursue 
the enterprise. They fixed on the site of Windsor, as the place to erect 
a trading-house. But delays occurred, and the Dutch having repented of 
their former moderation, and now anxious to secure the territory for them- 
selves, erected a small trading fort, called the house of Good Hope, on a 



100 THE GROWING NATION. 

point of land in Sukeag, since Hartford, at the junction of the Little river 
with the Connecticut. 

How firmly the little state had become established in a short time is 
shown from the shock which it now met and repelled. The Pequods were 
endeavoring to unite the Indian tribes in a plot to exterminate the English, 
especially those of this colony, named from its river, Connecticut. 

A general court was called on the last of May, at Hartford. Thirty 
persons had already been killed, and the evidence was conclusive that the 
savages designed a general massacre. The court, therefore, righteously 
declared war. The quota of troops from the three towns now settled, shows 
the rapid progress of the settlement. Hartford was to furnish ninety men, 
Windsor fort3^-two, and Wethersfield eighteen, making one hundred and fifty. 
John Mason was chosen captain. The troops embarked at Hartford, sailed 
down the river, and along the coast to Narragansett Bay. Miantonomoh 
furnished them two hundred warriors, Uncas sixty. There were actually 
embodied of the English only seventy-seven, of whom twenty, commanded 
by Captain Underbill, were from Massachusetts. 

Terrible Slaughter of the Natives. 

Guided by a Pequod deserter, they reached Mystic, one of the two forts 
of Sassacus, at dawn of day. Their Indian allies showed signs of fear, and 
Mason, arranging them at a distance around the fort, advanced with his own 
little army. If they fell there was no second force to defend their state, 
their wives and helpless children. As they approach a dog barks, and an 
Indian sentinel cries out, " Owannox, Owannox!" the English, the English! 
They leap within the fort. The Indians fight desperately, and victory is 
doubtful. Mason then seizes and throws a flaming brand, shouting, "we 
must burn them." The light materials of their wigwams were instantly in 
a blaze. Hemmed in, as the Indians now were, escape was impossible ; 
and six hundred, all who were M'ithin the fort, of every sex and age, in 
one hour perished. 

Three hundred Pequods, issuing from the other and royal fortress of 
Sassacus, pursued Mason with infuriated rage, as he retreated to the Pequod 
River, where he embarked on his vessels, which he met there. Two of the 
English were killed, and twenty wounded. 

The subjects of Sassacus now reproached him as the author of their 
misfortunes ; and, to escape destruction, he with his chief captains fled to 



THE GROWING NATION. 



101 



the Mohawks ; but he was afterwards slain by a revengeful subject. Three 
hundred of his warriors, having burned his remaining fort, fled along the 
sea-coast. Massachusetts had raised a body of men to aid in the war, which 
on account of the theological disturbance, arrived too late for the battle. 
These, under Captain Patrick, now joined with forty men under Mason, 
pursued the fugitive savages, traced them to a swamp in Fairfield, and there 
fousfht and defeated them. 

The prowess of the English had thus put the natives in fear, and a 
long peace ensued. All the churches in New England commemorated this 
deliverance by keeping a day of common and devout thanksgiving. 

Charles II. died in 1685, and was succeeded by the Duke of York, 
under the title of James II. He declared that there should be no free 
governments in his dominions ; and accord- 
ingly ordered writs to be issued against the 
charters of the colonies of Connecticut and 
Rhode Island. These colonies presented 
letters and addresses, which, containing ex- 
pressions of humble duty, the king con- 
strued them into an actual surrender of 
their charters ; and, affecting to believe that 
all impediments to the royal will were 
removed, he proceeded to establish a tem- 
porary government over New England. Sir 
Joseph Dudley was appointed president in 1686 ; but in December of the 
same year he was succeeded by Sir Edmund Andros, as governor-general, 
in whom, with a council, was vested all the powers of government. 

Sir Edmund began his career with the most flattering professions of 
his regard to the public safety and happiness. It was, however, well observed, 
that " Nero concealed his tyrannical disposition more years than Sir Edmund 
did months." He assumed control over the press, and appointed the 
detested Randolph, licenser. 

Soon after the arrival of Andros, he sent to Connecticut, demanding the 
surrender of her charter. This being refused, in 1687, he came with a 
guard to Hartford, during the session of the general assembly, and in person 
required its delivery. After debating until evening, the charter was produced, 
and laid on the table where the assembly were sitting. The lights were 
extinguished, and one of the members privately conveyed it away, and hid 




THE CHARTER OAK. 



102 



THE GROWING NATION. 



it in a cavity of a large oak tree. The candles were officiously relighted, 
but the charter was gone ; and no discovery could be made of it, or at that 
time, of the person who carried it away. The government of the colony 
was, however, surrendered to Andros. 

It is time now to give some account of the settlement of New York, 
the greatest State in the Union in population and wealth. It contains the 
finest river for navigation, possesses the commercial capital, and holds a 
position which alone connects New England with the South and West. 

In 1609 occurred the discovery 
of the Hudson river, which has 
proved the finest for navigation of 
any in America, and under cir- 
cumstances which, giving to two 
nations claims to its waters and 
their adjoining country, became 
the occasion of subsequent wars. 
Hendrick Hudson, the discoverer, 
was an Englishman by birth, but 
in the service of the Dutch East 
India Company. The next year 
the Dutch sent ships to this river 
to open a trade with the natives, 
but the Court of England disowned 
their claim to the country. The 
Dutch, however, followed up their 
good fortune, and soon erected 
forts Orange and Manhattan, near the sites of Albany and New York. 

Holland was one of those kingdoms which the early Fathers of New 
England were wont to say, " the Lord had sifted for good seed to sow the 
wilderness." It was just after this nation had succeeded in its struggle 
against the bloody tyranny of Philip II. of Spain, and established an 
independent federal government, that Henry Hudson, in the service of the 
Dutch East India Company, as already stated, sailed from the Texel for the 
purpose of discovering a northwest passage to India ; but being unsuccessful, 
he coasted along the shores of Newfoundland, proceeded south as far as 
Delaware and Chesapeake Bays, then returning northward he became the 
discoverer of the noble river which bears his name. 




HENDRICK HUDSON. 



THE GROWING NATION. 103 

In 1614 a company of mercliants having received pTmission from the 
State's General, fitted out a squadron of several ships, and sent them to 
trade to the country which Hudson had discovered. A rude fort was con- 
structed on Manhattan Island. One of the captains of the squadron, Adrian 
Blok, sailed through the East river and determined the insulated position 
of Long Island. He probably entered Connecticut river, and it is fully 
believed that he examined the coast as far as Cape Cod. 

Fort Built by the Traders. 

The next year the adventurers sailed up the Hudson, and on a little 
island, just below the present position of Albany, they built a small fort, 
naming it Fort Orange. But no families had emigrated. The Dutch were 
then merely traders. Afterwards they changed their location, and fixed 
where Albany now stands. 

Holland was torn by factions. Grotius, the most enlightened of her 
sons, was sentenced to imprisonment for life, and the disciples of his school 
were now ready to emigrate. To promote trade, the " West India Company " 
was formed, with full powers. The willing settlers were sent over. Cot- 
tages clustered around Manhattan fort, now called New Amsterdam, and 
Peter Minuets was made its first governor. 

Many settlements were now made, and a great part of the best land 
was soon appropriated. The Indian chiefs conveyed to the excellent Van 
Renselaer the tract around Fort Orange to the mouth of the Mohawk, and 
the College of Nineteen gave a patent. Six years afterwards the grant 
was extended twelve miles further to the south. De Vries conducted from 
Holland a colony which settled Lewistown, near the Delaware ; a small fort 
called Nassau having been previously erected by the Dutch. 

In consequence of disagreements among the company in Holland, Peter 
Minuets returned, having been superseded by Walter Van Twiller. Minuets 
became the leader of a colony of Swedes. The Dutch were now curtailed 
of the territory which they claimed on Connecticut river by the settlement 
of Hooker and others, and also by the subjects of Gustavus Adolphus, led 
by Minuets, of that on the banks of the Delaware. 

Difficulties also arose with the savages. Governor Keift, who had 
succeeded Van Twiller, had an inconsiderable quarrel with the Man- 
hattan Indians. Notwithstanding, when the Mohawks came down upon 
them, the}'- collected in groups, and begged him to shelter and assist 



104 THE GROWING NATION. 

them. Instead of this, the barbarous Keift sent his troops, and at night 
murdered them all — men, women and helpless babes — to the number of a 
hundred. Indian vengeance awoke, as well it might, and its tokens spread 
quickly from tribe to tribe. 

No English family within reach of the Algonquins was safe. The 
Dutch villages were in flames around, and the people fleeing to Holland. 
Near New York the family of Anne Hutchinson, and many others, were 
massacred; and in New England all was jeopardy and alarm. The Dutch 
troops defended themselves, having placed at their head Captain Underhill, 
who had been expelled from Massachusetts. At this time is supposed to 
have occurred a bloody battle at Strickland's Plain, in Greenwich, Connec- 
ticut, of which, however, the details seem strangely lost. 

Tomaha'wk Buried under the Tree of Peace. 

The Mohawks, who were friendly to the Dutch, at length interfered, 
and the congregated Indian sachems met in council with the whites, on the 
ground of the battery in New York. '' The tree of peace was planted and 
the tomahawk buried beneath its shade." Keift, execrated by all the colo- 
nies, was remanded to Holland ; and, on his return, perished by ship- 
wreck on the coast of Wales. Peter Stuyvesant had succeeded to his office 
before his departure. He went to Hartford, r.nd there entered into negotia- 
tions. The Dutch claims to Connecticut were relinquished, and Long 
Island was divided between the two parties. 

The Dutch had built fort Casimir on the site of Newcastle, in Dela- 
ware. The Swedes conceiving this to be an encroachment on their terri- 
tory, Rising, their Governor, by an unworthy stratagem, made himself its 
master. In 1655, Stuyvesant, acting by orders received from Holland, em- 
barked at New Amsterdam with six hundred men, and sailing up the Dela- 
ware he subjugated the Swedes. New Sweden was heard of no more; but 
the settlers were secured in their rights of private property, and their 
descendants are among the best of our citizens. 

Alany emigrants now came to New Netherlands, from among the 
oppressed, the discontented, and the enterprising of other colonies and of 
European nations. At length the inhabitants sought a share of political 
power. They assembled, and by their delegates demanded that no laws 
should be passed, except with the consent of the people. Stuyvesant very 
unceremoniously let them know that he was not to be directed "by a few 




>^ 
I— I 

O 

o 

O 

I— I 
P 

<^ 



THE GROWING NATION. 



105 



io-norant subjects;" and he forthwith dissolved the assembly. The "Nine- 
teen " highly approved his course ; and charged him not " to allow the 
people to indulge such visionary dreams, as that taxes should not be im- 
posed without their consent." 

But popular liberty, though checked here, prevailed in the adjoining 
provinces ; and they 
consequently grew 
more rapidly and 
crowded upon the 
Dutch. The In- 
dians made war upon 
some of their vil- 
lages, especially that 
of Hsopus,now King- 
ston; and New Neth- 
erlands could not ob- 
tain aid from Hol- 
land. The States 
General had given 
the whole concern 
into the hands of the 
Nineteen, they to 
pay all expenses ; 
and this council re- 
fused to make need- 
ful advances. 

In the meantime, 
Charles II. had 
granted to his 
brother James, then peter stuyvesant, governor of new york. 

Duke of York and Albany, the territory from the banks of the Connecti- 
cut to those of the Delaware. Sir Robert Nichols, a confidential officer of 
his household, was dispatched with a fleet to take possession. Nichols 
brought over commissioners to New England, and landed them at Boston. 
Taking in from Long Island the younger Winthrop, now Governor of 
Connecticut, he sailed to New Amsterdam, and suddenly demanded of the 
astonished Stuyvesant to give up the place. Winthrop advised him to do 




106 THE GROWING NATION. 

so, but the faithful Dutchman replied that a tame surrender " would be 
reproved in the fatherland;" and he would have defended his post if he 
could. But the body of the people preferred the English rule to that of 
the Dutch, the privileges of Englishmen having been promised them. 
Nichols therefore entered, took possession in the name of his master, and 
called the place New York. 

A part of the English fleet, under Sir George Carteret, sailed up the 
Hudson to Fort Orange, which surrendered and was named Albany. The 
Dutch fort on the Delaware was also taken by the English. The rights 
of property were respected, and a treaty was made with the Five Nations. 
The whole line of coast from Acadia to Florida, was now in posses- 
sion of the English. But there was destined to be a long struggle between 
the European nations for the mastery of the new world. There was as much 
rivalry as could have been expected at a time when the vast resources of 
the new country were quite unknown and the difficulties of ocean naviga- 
tion were so great. 

Most of the towns that now teem with population, were, in the first 
place, trading stations and forts. These became centres of industry and 
traffic, and as the country grew older such centres of population became 
rallying points for the settlers. Our history shows that these early settle- 
ments nearly all suffered during the wars with the Indians which broke out 
from time to time, and were carried on with savage barbarity. 

The strong hold the English obtained in America continued, and their 
settlements increased in number on almost every part of the coast. Even 
at this early period, there was a stir in the old world, and westward the 
course of empire was taking its way. The growth of the colonies fluctuated 
according to circumstances, but there was a steady movement of industrious, 
thrifty, resolute people toward the American wilderness. 




CHAPTER XII. 

PENNSYLVANIA AND ITS FOUNDER. 

)HB great and good man, to wliom Pennsylvania owes its origin, 
was the son of Vice Admiral Sir William Penn, and was born 
in London in 1644. He was regarded as a child of great 
promise. At eleven years of age, being, as he relates, at 
Oxford School, he was suddenly surprised " with an inward 
comfort, and an external glory in the belief of God, and his communion 
with his soul." Nothing, through a long life, ever shook his faith in the 
reality of this divinely communicated " inner light." 

At fifteen he entered Oxford College ; but though an excellent scholar 
— his religious sensibilities having been farther excited by the preaching 
of Thomas Loe, a Quaker, he was led to some irregularities as a student, 
involving a contempt of the authority, which caused his expulsion. His 
father, disappointed in the ambitious hopes which the uncommon talents 
of his son had raised, used every means, not excepting fatherly chastise- 
ment, to cure him of what he considered his whimsical obstinacy. All his 
efforts failing, he turned him from his door. But a generous nature, with 
the persuasions of his wife, soon made him relent, and restore his son 
to his favor. 

William was next sent to travel in France and Ital}^, where he spent 
two years. He returned with an elegant polish of manners, which delighted 
his father. But the admiral soon found that, wherever his religion was 
concerned, his son had the same peculiar views, and the same unbend 
ing spirit as before. 

His father next sent him to Ireland, in hopes that the splendid court 
of his friend, the Earl of Ormond, now Lord Lieutenant of that kingdom, 
would make him a man of the world. Having the agency of his father's 
large estates in Ireland, William applied himself to business with so much 
ability that his father was delighted with his success. But he again heard 
the preacher, Thomas Loe, and became a decided member of the Quaker 
Society, and as such he was persecuted and imprisoned. His father hear- 

107 



J 08 



PENNSYLVANIA AND ITS FOUNDER. 



ing of this, recalled him to England. Mortified at his oddities, but proud 
of his talents, the impassioned father entreats and beseeches, — even with 
tears. The affectionate son struggles between his love for his earthly and 
that for his Heavenly Parent, and decides that he must, at whatever cost, 
be in subjection to the Father of his spirit. 

The admiral is willing to endure much, and finally proposes to com- 
promise, and allow his son's peculiarities, provided he will consent partially 
to waive the Quaker custom of wearing the hat in every human presence, 

and uncover his head before the King, 
the Duke of York and himself Penn 
reflected that his spiritual strength 
and comfort depended upon obedience 
to his inward monitor. Christianity 
taught that the outward act should 
never belie the heart; and "hat-wor- 
ship " he believed could not otherwise 
be practiced. He therefore refused 
his father's proffer, and was again 
excluded from the shelter of his roof 
Penn now became a preacher and 
an author, and was ere long cast into 
f prison for his violation of the severe 
f laws respecting public worship; and 
though released by his father's medi- 
ation, he was soon re-committed. His 
fearless eloquence on one occasion, 
gained the jury to his cause. He 
was accused before the Mayor and 
Recorder of London of holding a private meeting with his brethren for 
religious worship ; and though the court directed, threatened, and kept the 
jury two days without " meat, drink, fire or tobacco," these twelve bold jurors 
would not find a bill against the prisoner. For this the court fined them, 
and cast them into prison for their fine. Such was the spirit of the times 
Admiral Penn, when his health failed, recalled his beloved son. Pic 
gave a charge on his death-bed to his friend, the Duke of York, who 
accepted the office, to watch the fate of William, and, as far as possible, 
shield him from the evils to which his peculiar tenets must expose him. 




WILLIAM PENN. 



PENNSYLVANIA AND ITS FOUNDER. 109 

Soon after his father's death Peuu is again iu prison. But notwithstanding 
this, we soon find him allying himself in marriage to a family of high 
respectability, and to a woman of extraordinary intelligence, beauty, and 
goodness. That he had now the public confidence also appears from the 
trust reposed in him by the assignees of Edward Billinge, while the high 
order of his talents was manifested by his legislation for the two Jerseys, 
His thoughts were by this turned to America ; and the sufferings of 
his dear persecuted brethren led him to plans of colonizing there, which 
he proceeded to put into operation. His father had left claims to the 
amount of sixteen thousand pounds against the crown; and Penn, finding 
that there was a tract yet ungranted, north of Lord Baltimore's patent, 
solicited and obtained of Charles II. a charter of the country, "which was 
bounded on the east by the river Delaware, extending westward through five 
degrees of longitude, and stretching from twelve miles northward of New- 
castle to the forty-third degree of latitude, and was limited on the south by 
a circle of twelve miles drawn around Newcastle, to the beginning of the 
fortieth degree of north latitude." It was called by the king Pennsylvania. 

A Council to Establish Peace. 

Soon after the date of this grant, two other conveyances were made to 
Penn by the Duke of York ; one of which embraced the present state of 
Delaware, and was called the "Territories." The other was a release from 
the Duke of any claims to Pennsylvania. 

Directions had been given to Colonel Markham, who preceded Penn, 
that the natives shold be treated kindly and fairly ; and accordingly no 
land had been entered upon but by their consent. They had also been 
notified that Penn, to whom they gave the name of Onas, was to kindle a 
council fire at a certain time, in order to meet and establish with them a 
treaty of perpetual peace. On the morning of the appointed day, under 
a huge elm at Shackamaxon, now a suburb of Philadelphia, William Penn, 
majestic in person, beautiful in countenance, graceful, though plain in 
manner and attire, his only ornament being a sash of pale blue, stood and 
held in his hand the roll of peace. 

Sending around his loving glance, he sees "far as his eyes can carry" 
among the trees of the forest, its painted and plumed children gathering 
towards him. The chiefs came forward and half encircle him. The principal 
sachem puts upon his own head a horned chaplet, the symbol of his power. 



110 PENNSYLVANIA AND ITS FOUNDER. 

At once every warrior lays down liis bow and t. maliawk, and seats himself 
upon the ground. The grand chief then announces to Onas that the 
nations are ready to hear his words, believing him to be an angel sent to 
them by the Great Spirit. 

Penn gave them instructions, and solemnly appealed to the Almighty, 
who knew his inmost thoughts, that it was the ardent desire of his heart 
to do them good. "He would not call them brothers or children, but they 
should be to him and his, as half of the same body." The chiefs then 
gave their pledge for themselves, and for their tribes, " to live in love with 
him and his children, as long as the sun and moon should endure." The 
treaty was then executed, the chiefs marking down the emblems of their 
several tribes. The purchases of Markham were confirmed and others made. 

The City of Philadelphia Founded. 

After this Penn went to a villa which his nephew had built for his 
residence, opposite the site of Burlington, and called Pennsbury. Here he 
gave directions for laying out towns and counties, and in conjunction with 
the surveyor. Holme, drew the plan of his capital, and in the spirit of 
"brotherly love," named it Philadelphia. 

Vessels came fast with new settlers, until twenty-two bearing two 
thousand persons, had arrived. Some came so late in the fall, that they 
could not be provided with house-room in the rude dwellings of the new 
city ; and " the caves " were dug in the banks of the river to receive them. 
Providence fed them by flocks of pigeons and the fish of the rivers ; and the 
Indians, regarding them as the children of Onas, hunted to bring them game. 

Penn had left beyond the ocean his beloved family. Letters from 
England spoke of the sufferings of his Quaker brethren, and he believed 
that he might exercise an influence there to check persecution. He 
embarked on the fourth of August, and wrote on board the ship an affec- 
tionate adieu to his province, which he sent on shore before he sailed. He 
said, " And thou, Philadelphia, virgin of the province ! my soul prays for 
thee, that, faithful to the God of thy mercies, in the life of righteousness, 
thou mayest be preserved unto the end!" 

After William Penn's arrival in England he became one of the most 
influential persons in the kingdom ; for when the Duke of York was made 
king, under the title of James II., he manifested for him much confidence 
and affection. The influence thus possessed at court was never used for 



PENNSYLVANIA AND ITS FOUNDER. Ill 

selfish purposes, but mainly to obtain benefits for distressed Quakers, and 
laws in favor of general toleration. 

When James became an exile in France, Penn was suspected, by his 
successor, of holding with him a treasonable correspondence, and upon 
vague charges to this effect he was a number of times imprisoned. In 
1692 the government of Pennsylvania was taken from him, and Fletcher, 
governor of New York, appointed by the crown to rule his province. After 
strict scrutiny, the conduct of Penn was found to be irreproachable, and in 
1694 he was restored to the favor of the king, and reinstated in his govern- 
ment ; but not immediately returning to Pennsylvania, he appointed the 
worthy Thomas Lloyd his deputy-governor. 

The Duke's Claims Adjudged to be Oppressive. 

Sir Edmund Andros, when governor of New York, under pretence of 
the claims of the Duke of York, usurped the government both in East and 
West Jersey, and laid a tax upon all goods imported, and upon the pro- 
pert}^ of all who came to settle in the country. Penn received complaints of 
these abuses, and with such strength of argument opposed the claims of the 
duke that the commissioners to whom the case was referred adjudged the 
duties to be illegal and oppressive; in consequence of which, in 1680, they 
were removed, and the proprietors reinstated in the government. Edward 
Byllinge was appointed their governor, and the next year, 1681, he sum- 
moned the first General Assembly held in West Jersey. In 1682 the people, 
by the advice of Penn, amended their government. Contrary to the wishes 
of the proprietor, the next j^ear they proceeded to elect their own governor. 




CHAPTER XIII. 

WITCHCRAFT IN NEW ENGLAND. 

)HE story of witchcraft in the Massachusetts colony is one of the 
most singular ever recorded. In 1688 a case occurred which 
excited general interest, and was the beginning of one of the 
saddest periods in the history of New England. The daughter 
of John Goodwin, a child of thirteen years, accused the daughter 
of an Irish laundress of stealing some linen. The mother of the laundress, 
a friendless emigrant, succeeded in disproving the charge, and abused the 
girl soundly for making a false accusation. 

Soon after this the accuser was seized with a fit, and pretended to be 
bewitched in order to be revenged upon the poor Irish woman. Her 
younger sister and two of her brothers followed her example. They pre- 
tended to be dumb, then deaf, then blind, and then all three at once. 
Nevertheless their appetite was good, and they slept soundly at night. 
The youngest of these little impostors was less than five years old. It was 
at once given out that the Goodwin children were bewitched, and no one 
suspected or hinted at the fraud. They would bark like dogs and mew 
like cats, and a physician who was called in to treat them solemnly de- 
clared that they were possessed by devils. 

A conference of the four ministers of Boston, and one from Charles- 
town, was held at Goodwin's house, where they observed a day of fasting 
and prayer. As a result of their efforts the youngest child, a boy of less 
than five years, was delivered of his evil spirit. The ministers now had 
no doubt that the children had been bewitched, and as the little ones 
accused the Irish woman of their misfortune, she was arrested, tried for 
witchcraft, convicted and hanged, notwithstanding that many persons 
thought the poor creature a lunatic. 

Among the ministers who had investigated this case and had procured 
the execution of the woman was Cotton Mather, the son of Increase Mather, 
then president of Harvard College. He was a young man who had but 
recently entered the ministry, and was regarded as one of the most learned 

112 



WITCHCRAFT IN NEW ENGLAND. 113 

and gifted preachers in the colony. He was withal a man of overweening 
vanity and full of ambition. He could not bear contradiction, and was 
devoted to the maintenance of the political power of the clergy. He was 
superstitious b}' nature, and was firmly convinced of the reality of witchcraft. 

He had become deeply interested in the case of the Goodwin children, 
and in order to study it more deeply took the eldest girl to his house, 
where he could observe and experiment upon her devil at his leisure. She 
was a cunning creature, and soon found that it was to her interest to 
humor the young pastor in his views, and she played upon his weakness 
with a shrewdness and skill which were remarkable in one so young, and 
exhibit the credulity of the investigator in a most pitiable light. 

Mather carried on his experiments with a diligence which would have 
seemed ludicrous had its object been less baneful to the community. He 
read the Bible, and prayed aloud in the presence of the girl, who would 
pretend to be thrown into a fit by the pious exercise. At the same time 
she read the Book of Common Prayer, or Quaker or Popish treatises, with- 
out any interruption from her familiar spirits. The minister then tested 
the proficiency of the devil in languages, by reading aloud passages of the 
Bible in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, which the girl professed to understand. 

Concluded that all Devils are not Alike. 

When he tried her with an Indian dialect, however, she could not 
comprehend him. By other experiments, designed to ascertain if the spirits 
could read the thoughts of others, Mather came to the sage conclusion that 
" all devils are not alike sagacious." The girl flattered his vanity, and 
lulled his suspicion of fraud by telling him that his own person was 
especially protected against the evil spirits by the power of God, and that 
the devils did not dare to enter his study. 

In 1692 a new case of witchcraft occurred in Salem village, now the 
town of Danvers. The minister of this place was Samuel Parris, between 
whom and a number of his people there had for some time existed dissen- 
sions of such a bitter nature that the attention of the general court had 
been directed to them. In February, 1692, the daughter and niece of 
Parris, the former a child of nine years, and the latter of less than twelve, 
gave signs of being bewitched. Parris at once recognized the opportunity 
which was thus offered him for vengeance upon his enemies, and deliberately 
availed himself of it. 



114 



WITCHCRAFT IN NEW ENGLAND, 



He demanded of the children the names of the persons who had 
bewitched them, and then proceeded to accuse those whom he succeeded in 
inducing the girls to denounce. The first victim was Rebecca Nurse. She 
was known in the community as a woman of exemplary Christian character; 

but she was one of 
the most resolute 
opponents of Parris. 
Upon his accusation 
she was arrested and 
imprisoned. The 
next Sunday Parris 
preached a sermon 
from the text, 
"Have I not chosen 
you twelve, and one 
of you is a devil." 
As his remarks were 
directed against 
Mistress Nurse, 
Sarah Cloyce, her 
sister, at once left 
the church. 

This in itself 
was a serious of- 
fence in those days, 
and Parris took ad- 
vantage of it to ac- 
cuse the offender of 
witchcraft, and she 
was seen to join 
THE REV. COTTON MATHER. her sistcr iu prison. 

Mather, who deemed his credit at stake, lent his active aid to the prosecution 
of these unfortunate people, and had the vanity to declare that he regarded 
the efforts of " the evil angels upon the country as a particular defiance 
unto himself" Parris scattered his accusations right and left, becoming 
both informer and witness against those whom he meant to destroy for 
their opposition to him. 




WITCHCRAFT IN NEW ENGLAND. 115 

In a few weeks nearly one hundred persons were in prison upon the 
charge of witchcraft. Abigail Williams, Parris's niece, aided her uncle with 
her tales, which the least examination would have shown to be absurd. 
George Burroughs, one of the ministers of Salem, had long been regarded 
by Parris as a rival, and he now openly expressed his disbelief in witchcraft, 
and his disapproval of the measures against those charged with that offence. 
This boldness sealed his doom. He was accused by Parris and committed 
to prison "with the rest of the witches." "The gallows was to be set 
up, not for those who professed themselves witches, but for those who 
rebuked the delusion." 

Governor Bradstreet, who had been chosen by the people, was unwilling 
to proceed to extreme measures against the accused, as he had no faith in the 
evidence against them. The arrival of the royal governor and the new 
charter in Boston in May, 1692, placed Cotton Mather and his fellow-prosecu- 
tors in a position to carry out their bloody designs. The General Court alone 
had authority to appoint special courts, but Governor Phipps did not hesitate 
to appoint one himself for the trial of the accused persons at Salem, and this 
illegal tribunal, with Stoughton as its chief judge, met at Salem on the 2d 
of June. In this court, Parris acted as prosecutor, keeping back some 
witnesses, and pushing others forward, as suited his plans. 

A Woman Suspected and Hanged. 

The first victim of the court was Bridget Bishop, " a poor, friendless old 
woman." Parris, who had examined her at the time of her commitment, was 
the principal witness against her. Deliverance Hobbs being also accused, a 
natural infirmity of her body was taken as a proof of her guilt, and she was 
hanged, protesting her innocence. Rebecca Nurse was at first acquitted of 
the charges against her, but the court refused to receive the verdict of the 
jury, and Parris was determined that the woman against whom he had 
preached and prayed should not escape him, and the jury were induced to 
convict her, and she was hanged. John Willard, who had been compelled, by 
his duty as a constable, to arrest the accused, now refused to serve in this 
capacity any longer, as he had become convinced of the hypocrisy of the insti- 
gators of the persecution. He was immediately denounced, tried and hanged. 

When George Burroughs, the minister, was placed on trial, the witnesses 
produced against him pretended to be dumb. " Who hinders these witnesses 
from giving their testimonies?" asked Stoughton, the chief judge. "I 



116 WITCHCRAFT IN NEW ENGLAND. 

suppose the devil," replied Burroughs, contemptuously. " How comes the 
devil," cried Stoughton, exultingly, " so loath to have any testimony borne 
against you ? " The words of the prisoner were regarded as a confession, and 
his remarkable bodily strength was made an evidence of his guilt. He was 
convicted and sentenced to be hanged. He was executed on the 19th of 
August, with four others. As he ascended the scaffold. Burroughs made an 
appeal to the people assembled to witness the execution, and effectually vindi- 
cated himself from the absurd charges against him, and repeated the Lord's 
prayer, which was regarded as a test of innocence. The spectators seemed 
about to interfere in favor of the victim. 

A Reign of Terror in the Colony. 

Cotton Mather, who was present on horseback, now exerted himself to 
complete the judicial murder. He harangued the people, insisted on the 
guilt of Burroughs, reminding them that the devil could sometimes assume 
the form of an angel of light, and even descended to the falsehood of 
declaring that Burroughs was no true minister, as his ordination was not 
valid. His appeal was sucsessful, and the execution was completed. 

Giles Cory, an old man over eighty years of age, seeing that no denial 
of guilt availed anything, refused to plead, and was pressed to death^ in 
accordance with an old English law, long obsolete, which was revived to 
meet his case. Samuel Wardwell confessed his guilt, and escaped the 
gallows. Overcome with shame for his cowardice, he retracted his confes- 
sion, and was hanged for denying witchcraft. A reign of terror prevailed 
in Salem ; the prisons were full, and no one could feel sure how long he 
would escape accusation and arrest. 

Many persons confessed their guilt to save their lives. Children accused 
their parents, parents their children, and husbands and wives each other 
of the most impossible offences, in the hope of escaping the persecution 
themselves. Hale, the minister of Beverley, was a zealous advocate of the 
persecution, until the bitter cup was presented to his own lips by the 
accusation of his wife. Many persons were obliged to fly the colony, and 
the magistrates, conscious that they were exceeding their powers, did not 
demand their surrender. 

We have mentioned only some of the principal cases to show the 
character of the persecution, as our limits forbid the relation of all. The 
total number hanged was twenty ; fifty-five were tortured or terrified into 



WITCHCRAFT IN NEW ENGLAND. 117 

confessions of guilt. The accusations were at first lodged against persons 
of humble station, but at length reached the higher classes. 

Stoughton's court, having hanged twenty of its victims, adjourned about 
the last of September, 1G92, until November, and on the eighteenth of October 
the general court met. The indignation of the people had been gathering 
force, and men were determined to put a stop to the judicial murders and 
tortures which had disgraced them so long. Remonstrances were at once 
presented to the assembly against " the doings of the witch tribunals,'' the 
people of Andover leading the way in this effort. The assembly abolished 
the special court, and established a tribunal b}^ public law. 

The Dreadful Mistake is Acknowledged. 

The danger was now over. It was no longer possible to procure a 
conviction for witchcraft. The indignant people of Salem village at once 
drove the wretched Parris and his family from the place. Noyes, the 
minister of Salem, who had been active in the persecutions, was compelled 
to ask the forgiveness of the people, after a public confession of his error. 
The devotion of the rest of his life to works of charity won him the pardon 
he sought. Sewall, one of the judges, struck with horror at the part he 
had played in the persecution, made an open and frank confession of his 
error, and implored the forgiveness of his fellow-citizens. His sincerity was 
so evident that he soon regained the favor he had lost. Stoughton passed 
the remainder of his life in proud and haughty disregard of the opinion of 
his fellow-men, scorning to make any acknowledgment of error, and evincing 
no remorse for his cruelties. 

As for the prime mover of the delusion, the Rev. Cotton Mather, 
nothing could induce him to admit that he could by any possibility have 
been in error ; not even the recollection of the sorrow he had brought upon 
some of the best people in the colony could shake his impenetrable self- 
conceit or humble him. When it was plain to him that he was the object 
of the indignation of all good men in New England, he had the hardihood 
to endeavor to persuade them that after all he had not been specially active 
in the sad affair. 




CHAPTER XIV. 

COLONIES ON THE SOUTHERN COAST. 

)FTBR Charles II. was restored to the throne of England his 
rapacious courtiers, taking advantage of his improvident good 
nature, obtained for their services real or pretended, from him 
who had little else to give, large tracts of American territor3^ 
Nor was that monarch, as we have already seen, at all scrupu- 
lous when a favorite was to be gratified, if what he gave had before been 
granted, or if it belonged to other nations. 

But settlers were wanted, and to procure these, various inducements 
were held out. Two settlements had already been formed. One of these, 
near the Sound, called, from the title given to the restorer of Charles II., 
Albemarle, was begun at an early day by enterprising planters from Vir- 
o-inia; and enjoying entire liberty, it had been augmented from that and 
other colonies, whenever :.aligious or political oppression had scattered 

their people. 

The other colony was to the south of this, on Cape Fear or Clarendon 
River; and had been originally made by a little band of adventurers from 
New England. They, as well as the former colony, had purchased their 
land of the natives — they had occupied it, and they claimed, as a law of 
nature, the right of self-government. In the meantime, a number of 
planters from Barbadoes, desiring to re-establish themselves in independ- 
ence, purchased lands of the sachems, and settled on Cape Fear River, near 
the territory of the New Englanders. The two parties united. In 1667 
they were in danger of famine, and Massachusetts sent them relief. 

William Sayle, the first proprietary governor of Carolina, brought over 
a colony, with which he founded old Charleston. Dying in 1671 his colony 
was annexed to that of Governor Yeamens. In 1680 the city was removed 
to the point of land between the two rivers, which received, in compliment 
to Lord Shaftsbury, the names of Ashley and Cooper. The foundation of 
the present capital of the south was laid, and the name of the king per- 
petuated in that of Charleston. 

118 



COLONIES ON THE SOUTHERN COAST. 



119 



During the year 1690 King William sent out a large body of French 
Protestants, who had been compelled to leave their country by the arbitrary 
measures of Louis XIV. To a part of these, lands were allotted in Vir- 
ginia on James River, and others settled in Carolina on the banks of the 
Santee, and in Charleston. They introduced the culture of the vine, and 
were among the most useful settlers of the province. 

About 1723 a new colony was projected in England. The country 
between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers, although within the limits of 
the Carolina grant, was still unoc. 
cupied by European settlers. The 
patriotic deemed it important that 
this region should be planted by a 
British colony, otherwise, it was 
feared, it would be seized by the 
Spaniards from Florida, or the 
French from the Mississippi. At the 
same time, a spirit of philanthropy 
was abroad in England, to notice 
the distresses of the poor, especi- 
ally those shut up in prisons, and 
to provide for their relief. 

Actuated by these generous 
considerations, a number of gentle- 
men in England, of whom James 
Oglethorpe was the most zealous, 
formed a project to settle this tract 
by such of the suffering poor as general oglethorpe. 

might be willing to seek, in the new world, the means of subsistence. To this 
company, the territory between the Savannah and Altamaha, now, in honor 
of the king, denominated Georgia, was granted ; and with its settlement was 
completed that of the thirteen veteran colonies, which fought the War of 
the Revolution, and whose emblematic stars and stripes still decorate the 
banner of American Independence. 

Oglethorpe, having prepared for the settlement of Georgia, by the 
assistance of a corporation, consisting of twenty-one persons, who were called 
" Trustees for settling and establishing the colony of Georgia," embarked 
in November, 1732, with one hundred and sixteen emigrants for America. 




120 COLONIES ON THE SOUTHERN COAST. 

They arrived at Charleston in January, 1733. Governor Johnson, 
sensible of the importance of having a barrier between his people and the 
Southern Indians, gave them all the aid in his power, and accompanied 
them to the place of their destination. This was Yamacraw Bluff, since 
called Savannah, which they reached on the 1st of February, and Ogle- 
thorpe immediately commenced a fort. 

His next care was to propitiate the Indians. The tribe settled at 
Yamacraw was considerable. The Creeks, at this period, could muster 
2,500 warriors; the Cherokees, 6,000; the Choctaws, 5,000; and the Chick- 
asaws, 700 ; amounting in the whole to 14,200, Aware, that without the 
friendship of these nations, his colony could not even exist, much less 
prosper, Oglethorpe summoned a general meeting of the chiefs, fifty of 
whom met him in council at Savannah. By means of an interpreter, he 
made them the most friendly professions, which they reciprocated ; and these 
amicable dispositions passed into a solemn treaty. 

Idle and Vicious Emigrants. 

Soon after these occurrences, Georgia was increased by five or six hun- 
dred emigrants ; but most of them were idle, and many of them vicious. 
In 1 736, Oglethorpe erected three forts, one on the Savannah, at Augusta ; 
another called Frederica, in the vicinity of the Scotch settlement, on the 
island of St. Simons ; and a third, named Fort William, on Cumberland 
island. The Spaniards remonstrated, and insisted on the evacuation of the 
country as far as the thirty-third degree of north latitude. 

Oglethorpe about this time returned to England. That nation being 
determined to maintain their claim to the disputed territory, appointed him 
commander-in-chief of the British forces in Carolina and Georgia, and sent 
him back with a regiment of six hundred men. On his arrival in America, 
he established his headquarters at Frederica. 

About this time, a number of slaves near Charleston, influenced by the 
Spaniards, rose in a body, armed themselves by forcing open a magazine 
at Stono, and, thence proceeding south twelve miles, they killed all the 
whites they met, and compelled the negroes to join them. At length, 
becoming intoxicated, they were attacked and overcome by the men of a 
worshipping assembly, who, according to law, went armed. Most of them 
were put to death. 

In May, 1742, a fleet was sent from Havana, from which in June^ 



COLONIES ON THE SOUTHERN COAST. 121 

debarked 2000 Spanish troops at St. Simons. Oglethorpe, with his wonted 
energy, had collected troops and posted himself at Frederica. He was not 
in sufficient force openly to attack the enemy, but was himself attacked by 
a party of Spaniards. His troops, particularly the Highlanders under 
Captain Mcintosh, fought bravely, repulsed, and slew two hundred of the 
enemy at " the Bloody Marsh." 

Oglethorpe, on being informed of a division in their camp, next deter- 
mined on a surprise, and marched his army during the night within two 
miles of their entrenchments, when a French soldier of his party discharged 
his musket and ran into their lines. Discovery defeated every hope of 
success, and Oglethorpe returned to his camp. He then adroitly planned 
to make the Spaniards believe that the deserter was a spy, and was giving 
them information to mislead them. He wrote him a letter, urging him to 
give the Spanish such an account of the situation of his army as should 
induce them to attack him, or would, at any rate, serve to detain them in 
their own camp until the succors which he expected should arrive. 

The Panic-Stricken Spaniards Flee. 

This letter, as Oglethorpe had contrived, fell into the hands of the 
Spanish, who, having loaded the deserter with irons, were deliberating upon 
its contents, when they perceived off the coast some ships of war, which 
South Carolina had sent to Oglethorpe without his knowledge. Panic- 
struck, the Spaniards embarked, and left the coast in such haste that their 
artillery, provisions, and military stores fell into the hands of the Georgians. 

Georgia, in its early settlement, was distinguished by the peculiar 
humanity in which it was founded. The chivalric Oglethorpe "sought not 
himself, but others ;" and for ten years he gave his disinterested services, 
without claiming so much as a cottage or a farm. Though a brave warrior, 
compassion was the leading trait of his mind. Hence the imprisoned debtors 
of England, the unfortunate adherents of the Scottish Stewarts, and those 
holy persecuted men, the missionary Moravians of Germany, each found in 
him a father. His mercy was also extended to the African ; and he would 
not, at first, allow a slave in his colony. 

The refusal of Oglethorpe to allow the Georgians to possess slaves, 
when the adjoining colonies carried on their plantations by their labor, was 
greatly injurious to its pecuniary prosperity; and at length even the pious 
Moravians, a party of whom were, for a time, in Georgia, agreed that if their 



122 COLONIES ON THE SOUTHERN COAST. 

salvation was regarded, it was, under the circumstances, proper to own and 
employ them. This opinion at length prevailed, it being also justified by 
the ardent and eloquent Whitfield, who, with the two Wesleys, the three 
founders of the sect of Methodists, sympathized with Oglethorpe m his 
benevolence; and each spent some time in America, assisting him in his 

enterprise. Whit- 
field founded, near 
Savannah, a house 
for orphans. In 
1752 the trustees, 
wearied with a trou- 
blesome and profit- 
less charge, resigned 
their of&ce, and 
Georgia became a 
royal province. 

Louisiana, after 
havingbeen for four- 
teen years under a 
company of avari- 
cious speculators 
formed at Paris, re- 
verted to the French 
crown ; and Bien- 
ville was appointed 
as governor. The 
Chickasaws were 
the dread of the 
Ivouisianians. They 
had incited the 
Natchez to commit 
JOHN WESLEY. cruel murders upon 

the whites, which had ended in the entire destruction of that peculiar nation; 
the Great Sun himself, with four hundred of his subjects, having been sold 
into slavery. The Chickasaws occupied a large and beautiful tract east of 
the MississiDpi, and on the head of the Tombigbee. This they would not 
allow the French to occupy, but maintained their own independence. 




COLONIES ON THE SOUTHERN COAST. 123 

It was concerted in France that a force under Bienville should ascend 
the Tombigbee to meet an army collected from the region of the Illinois, 
under the young and valorous d'Artaguette. At the time appointed the 
ardent young warrior with his small army was in the country of the hostile 
savages; but the laggards from the south had not seasonably arrived. After 
a brave effort to subdue the Chickasaws, he was overcome. Bienville at 
length arrived, but the Indians, aware of his approach, and aided by Knglish 
traders, received their army in such a manner that they threw their artillery 
into the Tombigbee, and, crest-fallen, returned down its stream. The Chicka- 
saws compelled the brave d'Artaguette to witness the torture and death of 
his companions, one of whom was the same Vincennes who had given his 
name to the capital of Illinois. The young warrior was then dismissed to 
go and relate to the whites the deeds of the Chickasaws. 

Four years afterwards a larger French and Indian force, aided by troops 
from Canada, invaded the country of the Chickasaws; but sickness wasted 
them, and at length Bienville, who led them, was glad to treat with the 
Indians on their own terms. 




CHAPTER XV. 

STORY OF CAPTAIN KIDD. 

)E must now return to the history of the province of New York, 
of which the Karl of Bellamont became governor in 1698. He 
found, on taking charge of affairs, great irregularities which 
had grown up under the administration of Fletcher, his imme- 
diate predecessor. The navigation laws were not enforced, and 
piracy prevailed to an alarming extent. To the suppression of this great 
evil the governor, during his rule of three j^ears, devoted his utmost energy. 
He had entered upon this work, however, before he was governor. 
Captain William Kidd — sometimes, but wrongl}-, called Robert — was a daring 
privateersman in time of war, whose services under the English govern- 
ment attracted much favorable mention. Lord Bellamont was persuaded 
that Kidd was the best man that could be selected to send against the 
pirates, and a company was formed in London for the equipment of a ship, 
the "Adventure Galle}^," to be placed under Kidd's command. Six thousand 
pounds were subscribed by a number of gentlemen, among whom were 
Bellamont and several noblemen in England. The king was to receive 
one-tenth part of the treasure which might be taken, and not more than 
one-fourth of the prizes were to go to the crew. 

The royal commission under which Kidd sailed authorized him to 
cruise against the French, and to seize certain notorious pirates who were 
mentioned by name. Unable fully to man his ship in the Thames, he 
sailed for New York, where he soon increased the number to one hundred 
and fifty. Among them were many characters gathered from the most 
desperate criminals in the provinces. Leaving New York in February, 1697, 
he headed for the coast of Madagascar, where the pirates were very numerous. 
It was a five months' voyage thither, and he cruised almost as long 
after reaching that latitude without taking a prize. Disgusted with his 
failure, he made for the west coast of Hindoostan, where no better fortune 
attended him. He finally turned pirate himself, and it is not impossible that 
such was his purpose when he disobeyed orders by sailing for Madagascar^ 

124 



STORY OF CAPTAIN KIDD. 125 

Much romance has been written about this famous rover of the seas. 
Few particulars of his voyages and exploits are known with certainty, but 
no doubt he was a thorough scoundrel, who, placing himself on good terms 
with the other pirates in those distant M-aters, plundered right and left, 
whenever opportunity presented. He was cruel to the last degree, and, 
when he landed, as he frequentl}^ did, he burned houses and murdered 
innocent people. He acquired enormous gains, so much so that it is said 
even the common sailors became wealthy. Having gained all the riches he 
wanted, he had the hardihood to set sail for Boston, believing he could 
bribe or deceive his former friends as to his guilt. 

Orders Given to Arrest the Pirate. 

But news having reached Ivondon that Kidd had become a pirate, orders 
were sent to the Hnglish colonies to use all efforts to arrest him. Before 
this could be done, he had burned his ship and dispersed his men. He 
decei^'ed Lord Bellamont for a time, but he was finally arrested and sent 
to London, where he was hanged in 1701. 

Hver since the death of this famous pirate, stories have been told of 
the riches which he buried at different points along the Atlantic coast. 
You would be astonithed if yow could learn how many persons have searched 
for those hidden trearures, which have never yet been, and are not likely 
to be, brought to light, since there is no reason to believe that the free- 
booter ever hid any part of his surplus wealth. 

The increase of the number of proprietors in West Jersc}^ had intro- 
duced great confusion into that province, disputes constantly arising not only 
among the settlers, but between the proprietors themselves ; so that for three 
3''ears it might be said that West Jersey had no regular authority whatever. 
On this account, in 1G98, the proprietors surrendered the right of government 
to the crown. Queen Anne united it with the east province, and New Jersey, 
as the whole was now called, was to be ruled jointly with New York by a 
royal governor, having a separate council and assembly of representatives. 

The Queen appointed, as governor of the two provinces, the worthless 
Lord Cornbury, who, as well as herself, was a grandchild of Lord Claren- 
don. He rendered himself odious to the people, squandering, for liis own 
use, large sums of money which had been appropriated for public purposes, 
and left to his disposal as governor. In 1708 the assemblies of New York 
and New Jersey, no longer willing to submit to his government, drew up 



^^g.~ •^.>:v its r, . ,' 




DIGGING FOR TREASURES SUPPOSED TO BE BURIED BY CAPTAIN KIDD. 



126 



STORY OF CAPTAIN KIDD. 127 

a complaint against him, and sent it to the queen. She removed him, and 
appointed Lord lyovelace in his room. After a short administration Lovelace 
was succeeded by Sir Robert Hunter, known as the friend of Dean Swift, 
and he, in 1719, by Peter Schuyler, so often mentioned as the mediator 
between the whites and Indians, he being the oldest member of the council. 
Commissioners were, at this time, appointed to draw the line of partition 
between the provinces of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. 

A Trading House made into a Fortress. 

In 1720 Mr. Burnet succeeded Schuyler. In order to deprive the 
French of their supplies for the Indians, he instituted measures to stop the 
trade between New York and Canada ; and by this means displeased the 
merchants. They being thus prohibited from a direct traffic with Canada, 
built a trading house at Oswego, which, in defiance of the protest of the 
French, and the displeasure of the Iroquois, was, in 1727, converted into a 
fortress. At length Burnet became so unpopular with the merchants, that 
though generally acceptable to the people, he was superseded in the gov- 
ernment by Colonel Alontgomery. 

On his death the command devolved on Rip Van Dam, he being the 
oldest member of the council, and an eminent merchant. He passively 
permitted the encroachments of the French, and during his administration 
they erected a fort at Crown Point, which commanded Lake Champlain, 
and which was within the knowledged limits of New York. 

A few years later occurred in New York the events of what is known 
in history as the " Negro Plot." Slaves at that time were numerous in 
the town and city. In the winter of 1740-41 fires broke out, and followed 
each other so rapidly that no doubt many of them were kindled on pur- 
pose, though it has been proved that a number of the first were purely 
accidentaL The suspicion was aroused that the slaves caused these con- 
flagrations with the intention of burning the town. One of the easiest 
things in the world is to start a panic. A proclamation was issued by the 
magistrates offering pardon, freedom and rewards to any slave who would 
bear witness against incendiaries and conspirators. Such inducements are 
sure to bring forward those who are eager to commit perjur}^ for the 
sake of gain. 

The magistrates did not have to wait. Some women of bad character 
swore that the negroes had formed a plot for burning the city and placing 




128 



EXECUTING NEGROES IN NEW YORK. 



STORY OF CAPTATN KIDD. 129 

one of their own number at the head of affairs. Other witnesses did their 
best to gain the reward by adding their testimony, which often was of the 
most worthless character. White men, too, were accused, and New York 
shuddered with a terror like that caused by the witchcraft delusion which 
swept through Massachusetts half a century before. 

People went wild with panic, losing their judgment and sense of 
humanity and mercy. Before the strange excitement ended, over thirty 
persons had been executed, several of whom were burned at the stake 
while others were transported. When the citizens regained their senses it 
came to be generally doubted, as many cool-headed persons had doubted 
all along, whether there had ever been any plot at all. 

Crazed and Deluded for no Reason. 

The story of this delusion is much like that of witchcraft in Massa- 
chusetts. A strange delirium seized the populace, and in the excited state 
of the public mind suspicions were easily formed. These did not need any 
basis of fact in order to convince the persons who entertained them that 
they were well founded. When an excited community makes up its mind 
to believe a thing, however absurd, no argument can prevent it. Facts are 
easily ignored for the time being, and only after the strange craze has 
begun to subside do people come to their senses and discover their mistake. 

What horrible reproaches and pangs of self-torment must have taken 
possession of the credulous people of New York when they made the awful 
discovery that the}^ had been killing persons who were entirely innocent of 
the crimes charged against them I 

9 




CHAPTER XVI. 

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 

;HE French, by virtue of the discoveries of Champlain, Marquette, 
La Salle, and others, claimed all the lands occupied by the 
waters flowing into the St. Lawrence and the Lakes, and all 
watered by the Mississippi and its branches. In fact, our whole 
country, according to their geographers, was New France, except 
that east of the great ranges of mountains, whose streams flow into the 
Atlantic ; and of this portion they claimed the basin of the Kennebec, and 
all Maine to the east of that valley. 

The British, on the other hand, asserted a right to the entire country, 
on account of the discovery of Cabot, as may be seen by their early patents, 
to which they gave an extension from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This 
title they had sought to strengthen. The chiefs of the confederate Iroquois 
had set up a claim, that their nations had, at some indefinite period, con- 
quered the country of the Mississippi ; and this title, such as it was, the 
English had bought. 

But in this contest for the right, which was rather with the savage 
occupants of the soil, than with either of the disputants, one thing was 
evident ; the question would ultimately be settled between them, by an 
appeal to arms ; and the crisis approached. 

The French had formed the vast plan of a chain of forts to connect 
their settlements, recently made at the mouth of the Mississippi, with their 
earlier colonies on the St. Lawrence. They had accomplished their purpose 
in part, having fortresses along the Lakes as far as the southern shore of 
Lake Hrie, where they had two forts, one at Presque Isle, and another on 
French creek, twelve miles south. On the Mississippi, and on the Ohio 
and its branches, they had also their fortifications. 

A number of gentlemen, mostly in Virginia, of whom Lawrence Wash- 
ington was one, procured, in 1750, an act of the British Parliament, 
constituting them " the Ohio Company," and granting them six hundred 
thousand acres of land on or near the Ohio river. They caused the tract 

130 



THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR, 131 

to be surveyed, and opened a trade with the Indians in the vicinity. This 
becoming known to the French, the governor of Canada complained to the 
authorities of New York and Pennsylvania, threatening to seize their traders 
if they did not quit their territory ; and several of their number were 
accordingly taken and carried to the fort at Presque Isle. 

A Trader "who Acted as a Spy. 

The governor of Virginia, the zealous and active Dinwiddle, alarmed 
at these movements on the part of the French, had sent a trader among 
them as a sp}', who, returning, increased his fears by vague accounts of 
the French posts near Lake Brie, without gratifying his curiosity as to the 
number or object of their forces. Dinwiddle determined, although the 
season was advanced, to send immediately a trusty person to require the 
French commandant to quit the territory ; and also to bring back such 
an account of his strength and position, that if he refused peaceably to 
retreat, some feasible method of ejectment might be adopted. A young 
man of twenty-two, an officer of the militia, was chosen. His figure 
was commanding, his air inspired respect and confidence. His name 
was George Washington. 

Major Washington was now placed over one of the four divisions into 
which Dinwiddle had portioned the militia of " the Dominion," the name 
then given to Virginia. He introduced a uniform discipline, and infused 
throughout his command his own military spirit. It was at this period 
that he was chosen by the governor as his envoy to the French. The 
seat of government for Virginia was Williamsburg. Thither Washington 
repaired, and was furnished with instructions and dispatches ; the most im- 
portant of which was a letter from Dinwiddle, to St. Pierre the French 
commandant, requiring him with threats, to withdraw from the territory 
belonging to the English sovereign. 

Washington departed late in October, 1753, to traverse more than five 
hundred miles, much of the way a pathless, as well as a wintry desert. 
His route la}^ through Fredericksburg, Alexandria and Winchester, to 
Will's Creek, since Cumberland. Here, taking leave of every vestige of 
civilization, and having procured Mr. Gist, agent of the Ohio company, as 
interpreter and guide, his party of eight plunged into the recesses of the 
wilderness. They passed through snow and storms, over mountain preci- 
pices, and down among thickets into flooded valleys, to ford unbridged and 



132 THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 

swollen rivers on frail and dangerous rafts. Coming upon the Yough- 
iogeuy they followed it to the Monongahela, and that to its junction with 
the Alleghany. " The Fork," as the site of Pittsburg was called, was then 
a desert, but Washington noticed, and afterwards reported it, as a suit- 
able place for a fort. 

From the Fork he went down the river twenty miles to Logstown, 
where he was to deliver friendly greetings from Dinwiddle to the great 
chief of the Southern Hurons, Tanacharison, or the Half-king; whose 
friendship was courted both by French and English. The chief received 
him with kindness. He had been, he told Washington, to the French 
camp and had there made a set speech, in which he declared to the officers 
that the land in question belonged neither to the English nor the French ; 
but the Great Spirit had given it to the Indians, and allowed them to 
make it their residence. " I desire you, therefore," said he, " to withdraw, 
as I have our brothers, the English ; for I will keep you at arm's length." 

He would Obey his Orders. 

After Major Washington had attended a friendly council with the 
Indians, Tanacharison and three of his principal men, accompanied him 
north, more than a hundred miles to the encampment at French Creek. 
Here St. Pierre, who had been but a few days in command of the post, 
received him with the courteous bearing and hospitable attentions of the 
French gentleman. But to Dinwiddle's request that he would leave the 
territory which belonged to the British, he replied, after two days consul- 
tation with his officers, that it did not become him to discuss treaties ; 
such questions should rather be addressed to the Governor-General, the 
Marquis du Quesne; he acted under his orders, and those he should be 
careful to obey. 

Washington and his party, by previous concert, had been making 
every possible observation on the state of the forces and camp, and now 
receiving the reply of St. Pierre, he was desirous to depart ; but the French 
were tampering with the Indians, and unwilling to dismiss the Half-king, 
until they had corrupted his fidelity ; but in this they failed. 

The return of Washington in the dead of winter was full of startling 
and perilous adventure. Once a treacherous guide aimed his musket at 
him, but it missed fire ; and once, on the Alleghany River, he and his 
guide, having made in a day, with one poor hatchet, a miserable raft, they 



THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 133 

at sunset trusted themselves upon it to cross the swollen river, amidst large 
masses of floating ice. It came down upon them, and threw them from 
their raft into ten feet water. But they saved themselves by swim- 
ming to an island. 

Major Washington arrived at Williamsburg on the 16th of January, 
having been absent only eleven weeks. The boldness, energy and prudence 
with which he had met and overcome dangers, and the ability which he 
had manifested in the discharge of his trust, sunk deep into the minds of 
his countrymen ; and his written reports were published with applause, not 
only through the colonies, but in Kngland. 

Troops were now raised in Virginia, and Washington was made lieuten- 
ant-colonel and intrusted with the command. In April, 1754, he marched 
into the disputed territory, and, encamping at the Great Meadows, he there 
learned that the French had dispossessed the Virginians of a fort which, 
in consequence of his recommendation, they were erecting at the Fork, and 
which the French finished and named Fort du Quesne. He was also 
informed that a detachment of French troops had been sent against him, 
and were encamped but a few miles west of the Great Meadows. 

The Little Army Intrenched in the Fort. 

Surrounding their encampment he surprised and defeated them. The 
commander, De Jumonville, was killed, with ten of his party. On his 
return to the Great Meadows he was reinforced by regulars from New York 
and South Carolina, and erected there a small stockade called Fort Necessity. 

With less than 400 men Washington now marched to dislodge the 
enemy from Fort du Quesne; but after proceeding thirteen miles he 
received the intelligence that they had been reinforced from Canada, when 
he reluctantly relinquished the enterprise and retired. Unable to continue 
his retreat, from a failure of expected munitions, he intrenched his little 
army within Fort Necessity. A party of 1,500 French, under Monsieur 
De Villiers, soon followed and assaulted the fort; the Americans bravely 
resisted, from ten in the morning until dark. Washington deeming it folly 
longer to contend with so unequal a force, signed, in the course of the 
night, articles of capitulation, by which the fort was surrendered, but the 
garrison permitted to march out with the honors of war, and return 
unmolested to their homes. 

The British cabinet had perceived that a war was inevitable. Accord- 



134 



THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



ingly in their instructions to the colonies, in 1753, they directed them to 
cultivate the friendship of the Six Nations, and recommended what they 
had at a former jDcriod proposed, though not formally, that a union be 
formed among the colonies for their mutual protection and defense. Agree- 
ably to these instructions a congress was held at Albany in June, 1754, to 
which delegates were sent from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode 
Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. About one 
hundred and fifty Indians of the Six Nations were present, with w^hom the 
convention concluded an explanatory and pacific treaty, and then proceeded 
to consider the subject of the proposed union. 

Their situation, with regard to the French, called for immediate and 

effectual measures ; and it was unanimously 
resolved " that a union of the colonies was 
absolutely necessary for their preserva- 
tion." Desiring that their counsels, treas- 
ure and strength might be employed in 
due proportion against the common enemy, 
a committee, consisting of one member 
j;^ from each colony represented, was ap- 
pointed to draw a plan of union. That 
which was drawn by Benjamin Franklin, 
of Pennsylvania, was substantially adopted 
and signed on the 4th of July, twenty-two 
p years before this great statesman signed 
f^ that more important instrument, which he 
^ also assisted in forming — the Declaration 
of Independence. 

The delegates from Connecticut alone 
refused their consent to this plan, and on 
the ground that it gave too much power to the presiding general, who was 
to be appointed over the colonies by the crown. It was presented to the 
colonial legislatures and the British parliament for their sanction, but it 
was rejected by both; by the colonies because it gave too much power to 
the crown, and by the crown because it gave too much power to the people; 
thus showing how widely different, even at this period, were the views of 
Great Britain and her colonies respecting the rights of the latter, and fore- 
boding the contest and separation which afterwards followed. 




BKNJAMIN FRANKLIN. 



THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 135 

The ministry, having rejected this scheme of union, proposed to Governor 
Shirley and others, that the governors of the colonies (most of whom were 
appointed by the crown), attended by one or more of their council, should 
meet from time to time to concert measures for the general defense, with 
power to draw on the British treasury for such sums of money as they 
needed ; which sums were, however, to be reimbursed by a tax, to be imposed 
on the colonies. But the colonies were not so to be drawn into a consent 
to submit to a taxation by Great Britain, and they rejected the plan. As 
the only alternative, the crown then resolved to carry on the war with 
British troops and such auxiliary forces as the colonial assemblies might 
voluntarily furnish ; and to this the Americans cheerfully assented. 

The establishment of French posts on the Ohio, and the attack upon 
Colonel Washington, were stated by the British government as the com- 
mencement of hostilities; and 1500 troops, under General Braddock, were 
dispatched from England. On his arrival in America, he requested a 
convention of the colonial governors to assemble in Virginia, to concert 
with him a plan of military operations. 

Planning for a Combined Attack. 

Four expeditions were here resolved upon. General Braddock was to 
attack Fort du Quesne ; Governor Shirley was to lead the American regulars 
and Indians against Niagara; the militia of the northern colonies were to 
be directed against Crown Point ; and Nova Scotia was to be invaded. 
Early in the spring the French sent out a powerful fleet, carrying a large 
body of troops, under the Baron Dieskau, to reinforce the army in Canada. 

For the expedition against Nova Scotia three thousand men, under 
Generals Monckton and Winslow, sailed from Boston in May. They arrived 
at Chignecto, on the Bay of Fundy, the 1st of June. Here they were joined 
by 300 British troops, and proceeding against Beau Sejour, now the principal 
post of the French in that country, invested and took possession of it, after 
a bombardment of five days. The fleet appearing in the river St. John, the 
French set fire to their works, and evacuated the country. With the loss 
of only twenty men, the English took possession of Nova Scotia. 

Colonel Washington, on his return from the Great Meadows, had public 
thanks voted him by the house of burgesses. He rejoined his regiment at 
Alexandria, and was ordered by the governor to fill up his companies by 
enlistments — go back immediately — conquer the French, and build a fort 



136 THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 

beyond the mountains. He wrote to a member of the council, showing the 
folly and impracticability of the scheme; and it was given up. 

Dinwiddie had new plans. He reorganized the militia into independent 
companies, so that there was now no higher office than captain. Washington 
promptly offered his resignation, but his services being needed, he was 
warmly solicited to remain, and it was hinted that he might keep his 
commission. This he indignantly rejected, as neither rank nor emolument 
were offered with it ; and he wrote that those who supposed he would accept 
it on such terms must think him "more empty than the commission itself." 

Pushed on Regardless of Danger. 

Braddock, when he arrived, requested Colonel Washington to become 
one of his military family, preserving his rank. This Washington did not 
hesitate to accept, because he knew his own value to his country, and 
wished to improve in military skill. General Braddock marched from Vir- 
ginia in June ; but such were the delays occasioned by the difficulty of 
procuring horses, wagons, and provisions, that, by the advice of Wash- 
ington, he left the heavy baggage behind, under the care of Colonel Dunbar,, 
with an escort of 600 men, and placing himself at the head of 1,200 select 
troops, he proceeded by more rapid marches, towards Fort du Quesne. 

Braddock was not deficient in courage, or military skill ; but he was 
wholly ignorant of the mode of conducting warfare in American woods and 
morasses, and at the same time he held the opinions of the colonial officers 
in contempt. Nevertheless, Washington had ventured to suggest the expe- 
diency of employing the Indians, who, under the Half-king, had offered 
their services, as scouting, and advance parties. Braddock not only dis- 
dained the advice, but offended the Indians by the rudeness of his manner. 
Thus he rashly pushed on, without knowing the dangers near. 

Washington had, the day before, rejoined the army, from which he 
had been for a short time detained by severe illness. It was noon, on the 
9tli of July, when, from the height above the right bank of the Mononga- 
hela, he looked back upon the ascending army, which, ten miles from Fort 
du Quesne, had just crossed the stream for the second time. Kvery thing 
looked more bright and beautiful than aught he had ever witnessed 
before. The companies, in their crimson uniform, with burnished arms 
and floating banners, were marching gaily to cheerful music as they 
entered the forest. 



THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



137 



Suddenly there burst upon them the Indian war-whoop, and a deadly 
fire, from opposite quarters, and from unseen foes. Many fell. Panic-stricken, 
their ranks broke, and they would have fled, but Braddock rallied them ; 
and, a bigot to the rules of European warfare, he constantly sought to 
preserve a regular order of battle. Thus he kept his men like sheep 
penned in a fold, fair marks for a foe beyond their reach, and whose num- 
bers were so much inferior to their own, that they had not dreamed of 




DISASTROUS DEFEAT OE GENERAL BRADDOCK. 

defeating, but only expected to annoy and delay the British army. Their 
places of concealment were two ravines on each side of the road ; but Brad- 
dock would neither retreat, or pass beyond that fatal spot. 

The Indians, singling out the officers, shot down every one on horse- 
back, Washington alone excepted. He, as the sole remaining aid of the 
general, rode by turns over every part of the field to carry his orders. 
The Indians afterwards averred that they had specially noticed his bearing 
and conspicuous figure, and repeatedly shot at him ; but at length they 
became convinced that he was protected by an Invisible Power, and that 
no bullet could harm him. After the battle was over four were found 
lodged in his coat, and two horses had been killed under him; but the 
appointed guardian of his country escaped without a wound. 



138 THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 

Braddock, who had been undismayed amidst continued showers of 
bullets, at length received a mortal Avound. Upon his fall the regular 
troops fled in confusion. Washingon formed, and covered their retreat with 
the provincials, whom Braddock in his contempt had kept in the rear. 
The defeat was total ; sixty-four of&cers out of eighty-five, and nearly half 
the privates, were killed or wounded. 

Death of General Braddock. 

The flight of the army was so precipitate that it made no halt till it 
met the division under Dunbar, then about forty miles in the rear, where 
Braddock died. To this division was communicated the same spirit of 
flight, and they continued to retreat till they reached Fort Cumberland, 
one hundred and twenty miles from the place of action. The command 
now devolved on Colonel Dunbar, who withdrew the regulars to Philadel- 
phia, leaving the whole frontier of Virginia open to the depredations of 
the French and Indians. 

The French at Fort du Ouesne attempted to seduce the Cherokees 
from English interest. Some of their tribe gave notice of this to the 
governor of South Carolina, who, at their suggestion, met a council of the 
Cherokee chiefs in their own country, and concluded with them a treaty of 
peace and amit}^, in which they ceded to Great Britain a large tract of 
land in South Carolina. 



CHAPTER XVIL 




THE STORY OF CANADA AND QUEBEC. 

)HH campaign of 1757 was made no less disgraceful to the Knglisli 
than the former, by the futile schemes and inefi&cient measures 
of Lord Loudon. It is chiefly memorable in our annals for the 
dreadful " massacre at Fort William Henry." Montcalm, the 
French comman- 
der, had early concentrated 

his forces, amounting to 9000 

regulars, Canadians and In- 
dians, on the shores of the 

Champlain, at Ticonderoga. 

Passing up Lake George, he 

laid siege to Fort William 

Henry, was commanded by 

Col. Monroe, a British officer. 

Gen. Webb was at the time 

lying at Fort Edward, with 

the main British army, four 

or five thousand strong. 
Monroe, being vigorously 

pressed, while he defended 

himself with spirit, earnestly 

entreated Gen. Webb for aid. 

But he entreated in vain, 

and necessity compelled him, 

in August, to surrender. By 

the articles of capitulation 

Montcalm engaged that the 

English should be allowed to leave the fort with the honors of war; and, 

in order to protect them from the Indians, that an escort should be pro- 
vided to conduct them to fort Edward. 

180 




GENERAL MONTCALM. 



140 THE STORY OF CANADA AND QUEBEC. 

Soon after a detachment of the French took possession of the works. 
At the same moment the Indians, who had engaged to serve in the war on 
the promise of plunder, irritated at the terms of the surrender, rushed over 
the parapet, and began their outrages. Monroe, feeling the horrors of his 
situation, with his troops exposed at midnight, within the camp, to the 
cruelty of the savages, vainly attempted to conduct them forth ; but no 
sooner had he put them in motion than he found that, bad as was their 
position within, it was worse without, for the woods were infested with 
ferocious Indians thirsting for blood and plunder. He complained to 
Montcalm, and, demanding the promised escort, left the camp at morning 
to begin his march for Fort Edward. 

A Cold-Blooded Massacre. 

The French, themselves intimidated, gave them only the poor meed of 
advice, to yield up their private property as a means of appeasing the 
furious savages and saving life. They attempted this, and threw them 
their money and effects ; but their rapacity increasing with this partial 
gratification, they rushed, tomahawk in hand, upon the English, now a 
band of desperate fugitives who, stripping off their clothes, were glad to 
escape naked with their lives. Tne sick, the wounded, the women and the 
children, unable to escape, were murdered. Webb, on receiving intelligence 
of the capitulation, ordered five hundred men to meet the captured troops, 
and conduct them to his camp. The few who survived were discovered flying 
through the woods, singly or in small parties — some distracted, and many 
bleeding with the horrid cuts of the tomahawk — faint and nearly exhausted. 

There is little in the separate civil history of the colonies, during this 
period, which deserves particular attention. In all their proceedings with 
the royal governors, as well as in their direct intercourse with Great 
Britain, the colonists evinced that jealousy of their liberties which pre- 
vented any bold attempt, on the part of Great Britain, to enforce restric- 
tive measures, especially during the war. 

In Pennsylvania a dispute arose between the proprietary governor and 
the assembly, respecting the right of the proprietors to exempt their own 
lands in the province from a taxation, the object of which was to pay for 
the defence of those lands. To adjust this dispute Benjamin Franklin was 
sent to England, and the business was soon closed by the proprietors 
submitting their property to be taxed, provided the assessments were just. 



THE STORY OF CANADA AND QUEBEC. 



141 



The languid and spiritless manner in wliicli tlie war Had been con- 
ducted, and its consequent ill success, aroused botli England and America, 
-and produced a reaction wliicli brought forward as prime minister, the 
greatest statesman of the British annals, William Pitt, afterwards Earl of 
Chatham. So powerful was his eloquence and so austere his patriotism, 
that he controlled at 
length the energies of 
the government and 
the spirit of the peo- 
ple. His dreaded voice 
fearlessly denounced 
the selfishness and 
pusillanimity of the 
public agents. With 
intense search he 
found out worth, and 
resolutely brought it 
forward for public em- 
ployment. His per- 
severance was equal 
to his energy ; and his 
efforts were guided by 
a judgment, which 
whilst it was rapid, 
was, at the same time, 
profound and compre- 
hensive. 

Aware that the col- 
onies were in danger 
of becoming discour- 
aged by the ineffici- wiluam pitt, earl of Chatham. 

ency of the parent country, the minister assured them,, in a circular 
which he addressed to the governors of the provinces, that an effectual 
force should be sent against the French ; and he exhorted them to use 
their utmost exertions to raise men in their respective colonies, pledging 
himself that their own choice should direct by what officers their troops 
should be commanded ; and that those of the colonies should no longer be 




142 THE STORY OF CANADA AND QUEBEC. 

made inferior to Britisli officers of the same rank. Reassured and animated 
by this call, the colonists renewed their efforts and increased their army 
to twenty thousand. 

General Abercrombie was appointed to succeed the Earl of Loudon in 
the command of all the British forces in America. An armament was sent 
out imder Admiral Boscawen, conveying twelve thousand British troops 
commanded b}^ General Amherst, which, with the British forces previously 
in America, and the provincials, made up an army far greater than had 
ever before existed in America. These troops were all in readiness for 
action early in the spring. Nor were they delayed by irresolution as to 
the objects to be attempted. These having been well considered the pre- 
ceding winter, three expeditions were resolved on, against Louisburg, Crown 
Point and Fort du Quesne. 

The Town Captm'ed after a Regular Siege. 

The possession of Louisburg was deemed important, principally, because 
it would, by opening the gulf of St. Lawrence to the English, facilitate the 
seizure of the capital of Canada; the grand project of the British minister 
having in view the absolute destruction of the French power in America. 
The enterprise against this fortress was conducted by the land and naval 
commanders, Amherst and Boscawen, with twenty ships of the line, and 
14,000 men. The armament left Halifax late in May, and arrived before 
Louisburg early in June. 

A regular siege, the best conducted of any which had ever been laid 
in America, placed this fortress in the hands of the British. It was by his 
gallant conduct during this siege, that James Wolfe began his high career 
of military renown. The loss of Louisburg was deeply felt by France, and 
its gain by England and her rejoicing colonies. The garrison and mariners, 
to the amount of nearly 6000, went prisoners to England, and the inhabi- 
tants of the place were transported to France. With Louisburg the whole 
island of Cape Breton, and that of St. John's, fell under the power 
of the British. 

General Abercrombie, at the head of 16,000 men, proceeded against ^ 
Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Early in July he crossed Lake George, and 
debarking at its northern extremity, he attempted, with unskilled guides, to 
pass the three miles of dense woods which \^y between his army and 
Ticonderoga. As he approached that fort a detachment of the French fell 



THE STORY OF CANADA AND QUEBEC. 



143 



upou liim, and an engagement ensued in which the assailants lost 300 men; 
but of the British fell the amiable lyord Howe ; a young o£6.cer of great 
promise, and much beloved both in England and America. 

Abercrombie, learning that reinforcements were daily expected by the 
French, without waiting for his artillery, made a brave but imprudent 
assault upon the fort, and was repulsed with the heavy loss of nearl}^ two 
thousand killed and wounded. 

He then retired to his 
former quarters, on the south 
side of Lake George. Here 



he consented, at the solicitation 
of Colonel Bradstreet, to detach 
him with 3000 men, against 
Fort Frontenac. With these 
troops, who were mostly provin- 
cials, he marched to Oswego, 
embarked on Lake Ontario, 
and landed late in August 
within a mile of the fort, 
opened his batteries, and in 
two days forced this impor- 
tant fortress to surrender. As 
this fort, afterwards named 
Kingston, contained the mili- 
tary stores which were in- 
tended for the Indians, and 
for the supply of the south- 
western troops, its demolition general james wolfe. 
contributed to the success of the expedition against Fort du Quesne. 

To General Forbes, with an army of 8000 men, was assigned the 
capture of this fort. Early in July the arm}^ marched from Philadelphia 
to Ray's Town. Washington, gratified that the expedition was at length 
to be undertaken, was at Cumberland with the Virginia militia, whom 
he commanded, and who were in readiness to join the main army. Here 
he learned to his surprise, that General Forbes, induced by the citizens 
of Philadelphia, had decided to open a new road from Ray's Town to the 
Ohio. In vain Washington remonstrated. 





144 



WASHINGTON PLANTING THE FLAG ON FORT DU QUESNE. 



THE STORY OF CANADA AND QUEBEC. 145 

But before the army had arrived the weather became so cold and the 
men endured such severe sufferings that a council of ofi&cers decided that 
they must abandon their object and return. This they were about to do 
when they received such intelligence of the weakness of the French garri- 
son, that they roused to fresh effort, and late in November reached du 
Quesne. But it was only a solitary pile of ruins which they found. On 
the preceding night the French had set fire to the fort, and embarked to 
go down the Ohio. 

While the army were engaged in making the new road, Major Grant 
with a detachment had been suffered to throw himself forward, so as to 
encounter the full force of the French garrison. He was totally defeated 
and made prisoner, with eighteen of his of&cers. Three hundred of his 
party were either killed or taken by the enemy. New works were erected 
on the site of du Quesne, and named Fort Pitt. 

The Whole Garrison Captured. 

More distant Indian tribes felt that their safety, since the capture of 
Fort du Quesne, was best consulted by peace with the English, and at a 
grand council held in Easton, Pa., deputies from the Six Nations met with 
those from New England, and from the tribes ranging along the eastern 
Alleghanies, as far south as North Carolina. On the part of the English, 
Sir William Johnson and the governors of New York and New Jersey 
entered with them into friendly relations, and the calumet sent up to heaven 
a far more grateful odor than the steam of reeking battle-fields. 

The campaign of 1759 had for its object the entire reduction of Can- 
ada. Prideaux besieged Niagara on the 6th of July. He was killed by the 
bursting of a shell, and the command devolved upon Sir William Johnson. 
The French gave battle to the English, but the Indians in their alliance 
deserted them in the heat of the engagement, and victory declared in favor 
of the English. The garrison, consisting of six hundred men, fell into the 
hands of the British, who now possessing this important post, all com- 
munication between the northern and southern possessions of the French 
was barred, and the quiet behavior of the Indians secured. 

After the taking of Louisburg, Wolfe returned to England. Pitt, who 
had discerned his extraordinary qualities while he was yet obscure, and had 
brought him forward against the prejudices of the King, and resolutely 
sustained him, confided to him the command against Quebec. His sub- 

10 



146 THE STORY OF CANADA AND QUEBEC. 

ordinate officers were carefully chosen. He was provided with a choice 
army of eight thousand men, and a heavy train of artillery. Admirals 
Saunders and Holmes, seamen of great merit, commanded the fleet. 

It was late in June when the army debarked upon the Island of 
Orleans. From this spot Wolfe reconnoitered the position of his enemy, 
and saw the full magnitude of the difficulties which surrounded him. The 
city of Quebec rose before him upon the north side of the St. Lawrence ; 
its upper town and strong fortifications, situated on a rock, whose bold and 
steep front continued far westward, parallel with the river, its base near to 
the shore ; thus presenting a wall, which it seemed impossible to scale. 
From the northv/est came down the St. Charles, entering the St. Lawrence 
just below the town ; its banks high and uneven, and cut by deep ravines 
while armed vessels were borne upon its waters, and floating batteries 
obstructed its entrance. A few miles below the Alontmorenci leapt down its 
cataract into the St. Lawrence ; and, strongly posted along the sloping bank 
of that river, and between these two tributaries, the French army, com- 
manded by Montcalm, displayed its formidable lines. 

Heavy Batteries Opened on the Town. 

The first measure of Wolfe was to get possession of Point Levi, oppo- 
site Quebec. Here he erected and opened heavy batteries, which swept 
from the lower town, the buildings along the margin of the river ; but the 
fortifications, resting on the huge table of rock above, remained uninjured. 

Perceiving this, Wolfe next sought to draw the enemy from his en- 
trenchments, and bring on an engagement. For this purpose he landed his 
army below the Montmorenci ; but the wary Montcalm eluded every artifice 
to draw him out. Wolfe next crossed the stream with a portion of his 
army, and attacked him in his camp. The troops which were to commence 
the assault fell into disorder, having, with irregular ardor, disobeyed the 
orders of the general. Perceiving their confusion, he drew them off with 
the loss of four hundred men, and recrossed the Montmorenci. Here he 
was informed that his expected succors were likely to fail him. 

Amherst had found Ticonderoga and Crown Point vacated, and was pre- 
paring to attack the French forces withdrawn from these forts to the Isle 
aux Noix. Prideaux had lost his life, but his plans were carried out by 
Sir William Johnson. But the enemy were in force at Montreal ; and 
from neither division of the British army could the commander at Quebec 



THE STORY OF CANADA AND QUEBEC. 147 

now hope for any assistance. At this point of the enterprise Wolfe was 
severely tried. The plan which he had revolved in his mind, and, with the 
approbation of his officers, had determined to attempt, was to scale, in the 
night, and at some distance above Quebec, the bold precipice on which the 
fortifications were built, and thus reach the level plain above, called the 
Heights of Abraham. 

IMontcalm, perceiving that something was to be attempted, dispatched 
M. de Bourgainville, with one thousand five hundred men, to move higher 
up the St. Lawrence and watch the motions of the English. Wolfe, pur- 
suant to his plan, broke up his camp at Montmorenci and returned to 
Orleans. Then embarking with his army he directed Admiral Holmes, 
who commanded the fleet, in which himself and the army had embarked, 
to sail up the river several miles higher than the intended point of de- 
barkation. This movement deceived De Bourgainville, and gave Wolfe the 
advantage of the current to float his boats down to the destined spot. 

Wolfe's Army Scales the Precipice. 

This w^as done about an hour before daylight. Wolfe was the first 
man who leaped on shore. When he saw the difficiilties around him, he 
said to some one near, " I do not believe there is a possibility of getting 
up, but we must do our endeavor." The rapidity of the stream was hurry- 
ing along their boats, and some had already gone beyond the narrow 
landing-place. The shore was so shelving that it was almost impossible 
to ascend, and it was lined with French sentinels. One of these hailed, 
and was answered by a captain, who fully understood the French language, 
and who had been especially instructed for this purpose. 

Escaping these dangers at the water's edge, they proceeded, though 
with the utmost difficulty, to scale the precipice, pulling themselves up by 
the roots and branches of the trees and the projecting rocks in their way. 
The first party v/ho reached the heights secured a small batter}^, which 
crowned them ; and thus the remainder of the army ascended in safety, and 
there, on this lofty plain which commands one of the most magnificent 
prospects which nature has formed, the British army, drawn up in a highly 
advantageous position, were, in the morning, discovered by the French. 

Montcalm, learning with surprise and deep regret the advantage gained 
by his opponent, left his strong position, crossed the St. Charles, and, dis- 
playing his lines for battle, intrepidly led on the attack. Being on the left 



148 THE STORY OF CANADA AND QUEBEC. 

of the French, he was opposed to Wolfe, who was occupying the right of 
the British forces. In the heat of the engagement both commanders were 
mortally wounded. 

The wound with which Wolfe fell was the third which he had received 
in the battle. He was removed from the field; but he watched it with 




DEATH OF GENERAL WOLFE BEFORE QUEBEC. 

intense anxiety as, faint with the loss of blood, he reclined his languid 
head upon the supporting arm of an of&cer. A cry was heard, "They fly, 
they fly!" "Who fly?" he exclaimed. "The enemy," was the reply. 
" Then," said he, " I die content ;" and expired. Not less heroic was the 
death of Montcalm. He rejoiced when told that his wound was mortal ; 
" For," said he, " I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec. 

After the battle the affairs of the English were conducted with great 
discretion by General Townshend, whereas the French, in their panic, appear 
to have yielded at once to the suggestions of their fears. The capitulation 
of Quebec was signed within five days after the battle. Townshend gave 



THE STORY OF CANADA AND QUEBEC. 149 

favorable terms to the garrison, for he knew that the resources of the 
French were by no means exhausted. 

The French, in retiring from Fort du Quesne, passed into Louisiana. 
On their route they had intrigued with the Cherokees, who continued a 
predatory war upon the Carolinians. General Amherst, in 1760, sent 
Colonel Montgomery with a body of regulars to their relief. Being joined 
by such forces as could be raised in Carolina, he marched into the Cherokee 
country, destroyed all their lower towns, and was approaching Btchoc, the 
first of their middle settlements, when he was attacked, in an almost 
impenetrable thicket, by a large body of savages. In the battle which 
ensued the English claimed the victor}^; but so great was their loss, that 
they immediately retreated from the country. 

Fierce Attack on the Block-House. 

There was hard fighting at Fort Presque Isle, which stood near the 
present site of Erie, Pennsylvania, and was under the command of Ensign 
Christie, with a courageous garrison. Early on June 15tli, it was surrounded 
by two hundred Indians, most of them from the neighborhood of Detroit. 
The garrison immediately withdrew to the block-house, prepared to fight as 
long as the last hope remained. As at other points, burning arrows rained 
upon the roof, which repeatedly caught fire, but was as often extinguished 
by the cool daring of the soldiers. The assailants threw up a rude but 
strong breastwork on a ridge commanding the fort, and for two days and a 
half the desperate fight continued. 

A number of the Indians, with unusual daring, attempted to run from 
behind their breastworks, and shelter themselves close to the walls of the 
fort, but the watchful garrison picked off every one of them. The defenders, 
though as sparing in the use of water as possible, were compelled to use 
all they had to fight the flames that broke out again and again. The well 
in the parade ground was swept by the iron sleet, so that it was sure 
death to seek water from that source. Then the men set to work to dig 
a well inside the block-house. By the most desperate toil, they succeeded 
in reaching water just in time to extinguish the flames kindled by 
the blazing arrows. 

The bravery of the garrison only nerved the assailants to more deter- 
mined work. They began a mine, and, there being no way of checking them, 
succeeded in reaching and firing the house of the commanding officer. The 



150 



THE STORY OF CANADA AND QUEBEC. 



smoke and heat almost stifled the garrison, but they held out grimly, and 
whenever they could catch sight of a dusky figure, riddled it with bullets. 






All that night and 
through the next day 
the heroes fought and 
labored with unsur- 
passed courage. 

Meanwhile the as- 
sailants pushed their mining 
operations, until the sound 
of their digging was heard 
under the edge of the block- 
house itself. Further resist- 
ance could avail nothing, and 
Ensign Christie agreed to surrender under pledge that he and his exhausted 



ATTACK ON THE FORT AT PRESQUE ISLE 




THE STORY OF CANADA AND QUEBEC. 151 

men should be allowed to depart unmolested. The promise was given, but 
broken ; all were bound and taken as prisoners to Pontiac's camp, from which 
Christie succeeded in escaping and reaching the fort at Detroit. 

Pontiac's Treachery Discovered. 

Pontiac chose to command in person at Detroit, that post being regarded 
as the key to the upper country. The Indians, to the number of six 
hundred, had collected in the woods about the fort. In the evening a 
squaw, who had been kindly treated, betrays to Major Gladwin, the com- 
mandant, the designs of the savages. Pontiac, with a party of his chiefs, 
present themselves as in peace, desiring to hold a council with the officers 
within the fort. They are admitted, but to their surprise immediately 
surrounded by the garrison, fully armed. Major Gladwin approaches Pontiac, 
lifts his blanket, and finds a short rifle concealed beneath it. Similar ones 
are sought for and found upon each of his party. Thus unexpectedly 
discovered, Pontiac himself was disconcerted. The Indians from without 
were not let in ; but the chief escaped, or was suffered to go forth. 

He then besieged the fort, holding the garrison confined for many months, 
and cutting off supplies and reinforcements. At length his allies grew weary 
of war, and peace was concluded. Pontiac died three j^ears afterwards. 




CHAPTER XVIII. 

BEGINNING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

)N 1765 Lord Grenville introduced into the British Parliament his 
plan for taxing America, to commence with duties on stamps. 
By this act no written instrument could be legal unless the paper 
on which it was drawn was stamped ; and this stamped paper was 
to be purchased, at exorbitant prices, of the agents of the British 
Government. Provision was made for the recovery of penalties for the 
breach of this act, as of all others relating to trade and revenue, in any 
admiralt}^, or king's marine court, throughout the colonies. These courts 
proceeded in trials, without the intervention of a jury. This act, both in 
regard to the suspension of what the colonists regarded as one of the most 
important of their rights, that of trial by jury, and also in regard to that 
extension of jurisdiction, by which they were liable to be called to trial 
for real or supposed offenses, to distant provinces, was, next to that for 
direct taxation, the most obnoxious to the colonies of any aggression of 
the British government. 

In the House of Commons the project, though ably supported, met 
with ardent and animated opposition. It was on this occasion that Colonel 
Barre was roused to that unpremeditated effort of eloquence which has 
made his name, to this day, appear to Americans like that of a friend. 

In answer to Charles Townshend, he having caught that orator's last 
expression, he rose and exclaimed, "Children planted by your care I No I 
Your oppressions planted them in America ! They fled from your tyranny 
to an uncultivated land, where they were exposed to all the hardships to 
which human nature is liable, and, among others, to the cruelties of a 
savage foe the most subtle and, I will take it upon me to say, the most 
terrible that ever inherited any part of God's earth. Nourished by your 
indulgence ! No ! They grew by your neglect ! When you began to care 
about them that care was exercised in sending persons to rule over them 
whose character and conduct has caused the blood of these sons of liberty 
to recoil within them. Protected by your arms! They have nobly taken 

152 



BEGINNING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



153 



up arms in your defense! The people of America are as truly loyal as 
any subjects the king has, but a people jealous of their liberties, and 
they will vindicate them." 

Neither the eloquence of Colonel Barre, the petitions of the London 
merchants, nor the 
remonstrances of 
the colonies could 
prevent the passage 
of the Stamp Act. 
Of three hundred 
who voted in the 
House of Com- 
mons, only fifty 
were against it; in 
the House of Lords 



there was not a sin- 
gle dissenting voice, 
and the royal as- 
sent was readily ob- 
tained. Anticipa- 
ting opposition to 
these measures. Par- 
liament passed laws 
for sending troops 
to America, and 
obliging the inhab- 
itants of those colo- 
nies to which they 
should be sent to 
furnish them with 
quarters, and all supplies necessary for carrying on the war successfully. 

The Stamp Act was to take effect on the first day of November. The 
night after its passage Dr. Franklin, then in London as agent for Pennsyl- 
vania, wrote to his friend, Charles Thompson, ''The sun of liberty is set; 
you must light up the candles of industry and economy." " Be assured," said 
Mr. Thompson, in reply, " we shall light up torches of quite another sort." 

On the arrival of the Stamp Act the smothered feelings of the colonists 




COLONEL BARRE. 



164 BEGINNING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

broke forth into one general burst of indignation. The house of burgesses 
in Virginia were at that time in session. It was here that the first public 
opposition was made to the odious act ; and the man by whom the resolu- 
tions, which expressed this opposition, were introduced was the eloquent 
and ardent Patrick Henry, then a young lawyer and a new member. Of 
liis five celebrated resolutions, the first four asserted the rights and privi- 
leges claimed by the colonists; the last declared they were not bound to 
yield obedience to any law imposing taxes upon them, excepting such as 
were passed by the general assembly of the colony. These resolutions, 
more especially the last, were warmly opposed by the house of burgesses ; 
but the bold and irresistible elequence of Henry finally prevailed, and they 
were passed by a majority of a single voice. 

Exciting Scene Caused by Patrick Henry. 

In the heat of the debate, the conduct of the king was, for the first 
time in any public body in America, arraigned; and Patrick Henry, in this, 
dared what might have cost him his life. He asserted that the king, in 
assenting to the law for taxing the colonies, had acted the part of a tyrant ; 
and, alluding to the fate of other tyrants, he exclaimed, " Caesar had his 
Brutus, Charles I. his Cromwell, and George HI." — he was interrupted by 
the cry of " treason !" — pausing for a moment, he deliberately concluded — 
''may profit by their example; — if this be treason, make the most of it." 

The next day the members were alarmed, on considering the bold 
stand which they had taken, and in the absence of Henry the fifth reso- 
lution was rescinded; but it had already with the others gone forth, and, 
although at first cautiously circulated, all were at length openly published, 
and produced violent excitements throughout the country. 

Although, on account of the bold opposition to it, the Stamp Act was 
repealed in 17GG, yet the colonists continued a jealous watch over the 
British government. 

In May, 1767, Charles Townshend, then chancellor of the exchequer, 
influenced by Lord Grenville, brought into Parliament a second plan for 
taxing America by imposing duties on all tea, glass, paper and painters' 
colors, which should be imported into the colonies. This bill passed both 
houses of Parliament without much opposition. And during the same ses- 
sion an act was passed, suspending the authority of the assembly of New 
York until they should comply with the requisition to quarter troops. 



BEGINNING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



155 



which they had refused ; and another, appointing the officers of the navy, 
as custom-house officers, to enforce the acts of trade and navigation. 

These three acts following each other in quick succession, caused, 
throughout America, a revival of the same feelings which the passage of 
the Stamp Act had produced. In January, 1768, the assembly of .Massa- 
chusetts prepared a 
petition to the king 
and sent letters to 
those persons in Great 
Britain who had been 
most active in defend- 
ing the cause of Amer- 
ica, again asserting 
what they considered 
their rights and claim- 
in 2: deliverance from 
those unjust and op- 
pressive taxes, which 
had been imposed by 
the recent acts of Par- 
liament. They also 
addressed circulars to 
the other colonial as- 
semblies, entreating 
their co-operation in 
obtaining the redress 
of their grievances. 

In June the custom- 
house officers seized 
JOHN HANCOCK. a sloop belonging to 

John Hancock, a merchant of eminence and a patriot much beloved by the peo- 
ple of Boston. They assembled in crowds, insulted and beat the officers, and 
compelled them to leave the town. Non-importation agreements, with regard 
to all articles on which duties had been laid, were at this time very 
extensively adopted. 

A report was circulated that troops were ordered to march into Boston. 
A town meeting was called, and the governor was earnestly entreated to 




156 BEGINNING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

convoke the assembly. His reply \v:is " that he could not call another 
assembly this year without further commands from the king. 

Orders were given to General Gage, the commander-in-chief of the 
British troops in the colonies, to station a force in Boston, to overawe the 
citizens, and protect the custom-house ofi&cers in the discharge of their duty. 
Two regiments were accordingly ordered from Halifax, and escorted by 
seven armed vessels, they arrived at Boston in September. 

Resistance in the Assembly of Massachusetts. 

In May the assembly of Massachusetts convened. They refused to 
proceed with business while the state house was surrounded by an armed 
force. The governor would not remove it, but adjourned them to Cambridge. 
Here they expressed their decided belief that the establishment of a standing 
army in the colony in time of peace, was an invasion of their natural 
rights. They refused to make any of the appropriations of money which 
the governor proposed. 

In March, 1770, some of the inhabitants of Boston insulted the militar}^, 
while under arms ; and an affray took place, in which four persons were 
killed. The bells were instantly rung ; the people rushed from the country 
to the aid of the citizens, and the soldiers were obliged to retire to Castle, 
William, in order to avoid the fury of the enraged multitude. A trial was 
instituted ; the soldiers arraigned were all acquitted, except two, who were 
found guilty of manslaughter. 

In England Lord North was appointed to the ministry. He introduced 
a bill into Parliament, which passed on the 12th of April, removing the 
duties which had been laid in 1767, excepting those on tea. But, as had 
been predicted by those who opposed this partial removal, the people of 
America were not satisfied, while the system was adhered to and Parliament 
claimed the right of taxing the colonies. 

In 1772 meetings were held in the towns throughout Massachusetts, 
where committees were appointed to maintain a correspondence with each 
other. These meetings, which proved the nurseries of independence, were 
censured by Great Britain as being the hot-beds of treason and rebellion. 
In Rhode Island a daring resistance was made to the custom-house officers; 
and the "Gaspee," an armed schooner which had been stationed in that 
colony for the purpose of enforcing the acts of trade was destroyed. 

The non-importation associations had, upon the repeal of the duties we 



BEGINNING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



167 



liave mentioned, limited their opposition to the use of tea, and the East 
India Company in England found itself burdened with an enormous stock 
of tea, which it could not dispose of as usual in consequence of the cessation 
of sales in America. The company, therefore, proposed to pay all the duties 
on the tea in England and ship it to America at its own risk, hoping that 
the fact of there being 
no duty to pay in Amer- 
ica would induce the 
colonists to purchase it. 

This plan met the 
determined opposition of 
the king, who would not 
consent to relinquish the 
assertion of his right to 
tax the Americans. Lord 
North could not under- 
stand that it was not the 
amount of the tax, but 
the principle involved in 
it, that was opposed by 
the Americans, and he 
proposed that the East 
India Company should 
pay three-fourths of the 
duty in England, leav- 
ing the other fourth — 
about three pence on a 
pound — to be collected 
in America. His lord 
ship was told plainly 
that the Americans would not purchase the tea on these conditions, but he 
answered: "It is to no purpose the making objections, for the king will have 
it so. The king means to try the question with the Americans." 

There were men in America who fully understood that the king meant 
" to try the question with the Americans," and were willing the trial should 
come. Samuel Adams was satisfied as to what would be the result, and was 
diligently working to prepare the people for it. He had the satisfaction of 




SAMUEL ADAMS. 



158 BEGINNING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

seeing public opinion in America daily assume a more enliglitened and 
determined condition. A convention of all the colonies for taking action 
for a common resistance seemed to him a necessity, and he sent forth 
circulars to the various provinces urging them to assert their rights upon 
every possible occasion, and to combine for mutual support and protection. 
The news of the agreement between the Hast India Company and the 
government for the exportation of tea increased the determination of the 
colonists to resist the tax. It was also resolved that the tea should neither 
be landed nor sold. A meeting was held in Philadelphia and resolutions 
were passed requesting those to whom the tea was consigned " to resign 
their appointments." It was also resolved that whosoever should " aid or 
abet in unloading, receiving or vending the tea" should be regarded "as 
an enemy to his country." Meetings of a similar nature were held in New 
York and Charleston, and similar resolutions were adopted. 

Ships from England Loaded with Tea. 

A fast-sailing vessel reached Boston about the 1st of November, 1773, 
with the news that several ships laden with tea had sailed from England 
to America. On the 3d of November a meeting was held at Faneuil Hall, 
and, on motion of Samuel Adams, it was unanimously resolved to send the 
tea back upon its arrival. A man in the crowd cried out : "The only way 
to get rid of it is to throw it overboard." The meeting invited the con- 
signees of the tea to resign their appointments. 

The first of the tea ships reached Boston on the 25th of November, 
1773, A meeting of the citizens was held at Faneuil Hall, and it was 
ordered that the vessel should be moored to the wharf, and a guard of 
twenty-five citizens was placed over her to see that no tea was removed. 
The owner of the vessel agreed to send the cargo back if the governor 
would give his permit for the vessel to leave Boston. This the governor 
withheld, and in the meantime two other ships arrived with cargoes of tea 
and were ordered to anchor beside the first. The committee appointed by 
the meeting of citizens waited on the consignees, but obtained no satis- 
faction from them. 

On the 16th of December another meeting was held. The next day 
the time allowed by law would expire, and the tea would be placed under 
the protection of the fort and the armed ships in the harbor. The owner 
had gone to see the governor, at Milton, to obtain a pass for his vessels, 



BEGINNING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



159 



without which they could not leave the harbor. This the governor refused, 
on the ground that he had not a proper clearance. He returned to Boston 
late in the evening and reported the result of his mission to the meeting. 
Then Samuel Adams arose and gave the signal for the action that had 
been determined upon by saying : " This meeting can do nothing more to 
save the country." 




THROWING The tea OVERBOARD IN BOSTON HARBOR. 

Instantly a shout rang through the room, and a band of forty or fifty 
men " dressed like Mohawk Indians," with their faces blackened to prevent 
recognition, hastened from the meeting to the wharf where the ships were 
moored. A guard was posted to prevent the intrusion of spies, and the 
ships were at once seized. Three hundred and forty-two chests of tea were 
broken open and their contents poured into the water. The affair was 
witnessed in silence by a large crowd on the shore. When the destruc- 
tion of the tea was completed the " Indians " and the crowd dispersed to 
their homes. Paul Revere was despatched by the patriot leaders to carr}'- 
the news to New York and Philadelphia. 

At New York and Philadelphia the people would not allow the tea to 



160 BEGINNING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

be landed, and at Charleston it was stored in damp cellars, wliere the whole 
cargo was soon ruined. At Annapolis a ship and its cargo were burned, 
the owner of the vessel himself setting fire to the ship. 

The British government was greatly incensed at the refusal of the 
colonists to allow the tea to be landed, and determined to compel the 
Americans to submit to the authority of Great Britain. Boston, in par- 
ticular, Avas to be made a terrible example to the rest of the colonies. A 
bill was introduced into Parliament, and passed by a majority of four to 
one, closing the port of Boston to all commerce, and transferring the seat 
of government to Salem. The British ministry boasted that with ten 
thousand regulars they could " march through the continent," and they 
were resolved to bring America to her knees, and make her confess her 
fault in dust and humiliation. Lord Howe sought an introduction to Dr. 
Franklin, through his sister, Mrs. Howe, the friend of the latter, and an 
honest endeavor was made on both sides to devise some plan to which the 
parties would consent. But the result of these secret and unofficial nego- 
tiations shows clearly that so wide was the difference of opinion in England 
and America that a war was inevitable. 

Drilling Minute-man in the use of Arms. 

In the meantime affairs in America were tending to a crisis which 
would preclude all hope of reconciliation. One Congress had been called 
by the colonies, and met in Philadelphia. The opposition to the unjust 
acts of the British government was very emphatic. A second provincial 
Congress, having assembled in IMassachusetts, had ordered military stores 
to be collected, and encouraged the militia and minute-men to perfect 
themselves in the use of arms. 

The British General Gage, having learned that a number of field-pieces 
were collected at Salem, dispatched a party of soldiers to take possession 
of them in the name of the king. The people of Salem assembled in great 
numbers and, by pulling up a draw-bridge, prevented their entering the 
town, and thus defeated their object. A large quantity of ammunition and 
stores was also deposited at Concord, about twenty miles from Boston ; 
these General Gage resolved to seize or destroy, and, with that view, he 
sent a detachment of 800 men under the command of Colonel Smith and 
Major Pitcairn, ordering them to proceed with expedition and secrecy. 

The Americans had notice of the design, and when the British troops 



BEGINNING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



161 



arrived at Lexington, within five miles of Concord, the militia of the place 
were drawn up and ready to receive them. The advanced body of the 
British approached within musket-shot, when Major Pitcairn, riding forward, 
called to the Americans, " Disperse, you rebels ! — throw down your arms 
and disperse." Not being instantly obeyed, he discharged his pistol, and 
ordered his men to fire. They fired, and killed eight men. The militia 
dispersed, but the firing continued. 

One of those killed at the Lexington bridge was Isaac Davis, the 




DEATH OF CAPTAIN DAVIS AT LEXINGTON BRIDGE. 



captain of the minute-men of Acton. He had bidden his young wife a 
touching good-bye, as he ran to lead his men to the fight. A little later 
his dead body was brought to her door. 

The British troops then proceeded to Concord, and destroyed or took 
possession of the stores. They then began their retreat ; but the colonists 
pressing upon them on all sides, they went to Lexington, where they met 
Lord Percy with a reinforcement of 900 men, without which it is doubtful 
whether they could have reached Boston, for the Americans, better acquainted 

11 



162 BEGINNING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

•with the grounds, continually harassed their march. From every place of 
concealment — a stone fence, a cluster of bushes, or a barn — the concealed 
Americans poured upon them a destructive fire. At sunset the British, 
almost overcome with fatigue, passed Charlestown Neck, and found on 
Bunker's Hill a resting-place for the night, and the next morning, under 
the protection of a man-of-war, they entered Boston. 

Startling News Alarms the Country. 

Blood had now flowed, and no language can portray the feelings which 
the event excited. Couriers were dispatched in every direction, who gave, 
as they rode at full speed, their news, to be taken up and carried in like 
manner to other places ; and thus, in an increasing circle, it spread like 
electric fluid throughout the land. The messenger, if he arrived on Sunday, 
at once entered the church, and proclaimed to the breathless assembly — war 
has begun ! Everywhere the cry was repeated, " war has begun ! " and the 
universal response was, "to arms, then! liberty or death!" 

The legislatures of the several colonies convened, appointed of6.cers, and 
gave orders to raise troops. Everywhere fathers were leaving their children, 
and mothers sending their sons to the field ; and an army of 20,000 was 
soon collected in the neighborhood of Boston. 

Thus war was beginning in earnest. But our fathers had a righteous 
cause ; and the contest was important, not only to themselves and their 
posterity, but to human rights. They had done all that was possible, and 
what none but great men could have done, to secure an honorable peace. 
What our country uow is, and what it must have been, had they shrunk 
from the conflict, and tamely submitted to the yoke of servitude, speaks for 
their virtue and wisdom, in resolving to contend. The God of justice, in 
whom they trusted, proved their deliverer. They were, to the death, true 
to us, their posterity. Let not us be false to them ; but let us transmit 
the liberty and the noble institutions of our country, the inheritance earned 
by their blood, uncontaminated, to our descendants. 



^A^>^i:;=i::^0$ 



CHAPTER XIX. 

PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 

ENERAL GAGE was now closely besieged in Boston by an army 
of twenty thousand. He had made his fortifications so strong 
that the Americans did not attempt the place by assault ; nor 
would they have taken any such measures to annoy the enemy 
as would have exposed the inhabitants. But so closely were 
the British invested, that, although they had the command of the sea, their 
provisions became scarce. Great vigilance, to prevent their obtaining 
supplies, was used along the coast, the inhabitants, for this purpose, often 
driving their cattle into the interior. 

The possession of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, on which depended 
the command of Lakes George and Champlain, was an object of essential 
importance. Without waiting for the action of Congress, individuals in 
Connecticut, at the head of whom were Dean, Wooster, and Parsons, deter- 
mined to undertake it on their own responsibility ; and accordingly they 
borrowed of the legislature of that colony eighteen hundred dollars. 

They then proceeded to Bennington, confident of the co-operation of the 
hardy freemen who had settled in that vicinity by the authority of New 
Hampshire, and who had, under the name of the " Green Mountain corps," 
manifested their resolution in defence of their lands from the sheriffs of 
New York, that state claiming over them a jurisdiction which they would 
not allow. At the head of these veterans were Colonels Ethan Allen and 
Seth Warner. They gladly engaged in the enterprise. Troops were soon 
raised, and the command was intrusted to Allen. 

In the meantime, Benedict Arnold, with the intrepid boldness of his 
character, had, in Boston, formed and matured the same design, and was on 
the march to execute it, when he found, with astonishment, that he had 
been anticipated. Becoming second in command to Allen, they marched 
together at the head of three hundred men, from Castleton, and reached 
Lake Champlain, opposite Ticonderoga, on the 9th of May, On the morning 
of the 10th they embarked with eighty-three men, landed at dawn of day, 

x63 



164 



PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 



and completely surprised the fortress. The approach of a hostile force was 
so unexpected to De La Place, the commander, that he knew not from what 
quarter they were ; and when summoned to surrender, he demanded by what 
authority: — "In the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Con- 
gress," said Allen. De La Place, incapable of making any resistance, 
delivered up the garrison, which consisted of only three officers and 
forty-four privates. 

The remainder of the troops having landed, Colonel Warner was dis- 
patched with a small party against Crown Point, of which he took peace- 
able possession. Arnold, having manned and armed a small schooner 

found in South 



Bay, captured 
a sloop-of-war 
lying at St. 
John's. The 
pass of Skeens- 
borough was 
seized at the 
same time, by 
a detachment of 
volunteers from 
Connecticut. 

Thus were 
obtained, witli- 

CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA BY ETHAN ALLEN. OUt bloodshed 

these important posts, and the command of the lakes on which they stood, 
together with one hundred pieces of cannon, and other munitions of war. 
The success with which this expedition was crowned, greatly tended to 
raise the confidence which the Americans felt in themselves. The Conti- 
nental Congress again assembled at Philadelphia on the 10th of May, and 
Mr. Hancock was chosen president. Bills of credit to the amount of three 
-millions of dollars were issued for defraying the expenses of the war, and 
the faith of the " Twelve United Colonies " pledged for their redemption. 

Lord Dunmore, the governor of Virginia, on plea of insurrection in a 
neighboring county, caused some powder to be seized, by night, from the 
magazine belonging to the colony at Williamsburgh, and conveyed on 
board an armed schooner, then lying in James River. Patrick Henry 





CARPENTER'S HALL— PHILADELPHIA. 

In this building assembled the first Continental Congress on Monday, Sept. 5, 1774. 
delegates were present, representing twelve Colonies. 



Fifty-four 




S5 
O 

S 

o 

Ft 

m 



PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 165 

assembled an independent company, and was marching towards the capital, 
to obtain it by force, v/hen he was met by a messenger from the governor, 
who paid him the full value in money. Henry and his party returned. 
Lord Dunmore, having fortified his palace, issued a proclamation, and 
declared them rebels. 

This highly incensed the people, with whom Henry was the favorite 
leader. About the same time, letters of Dunmore to England were inter- 
cepted, which were considered as gross slanders against the colony. Thus 
situated, he became apprehensive of personal danger, abandoned his gov- 
ernment, and went on board the Fowey, a man-of-war, then lying at York- 
tov/n. In North Carolina, Governor Martin took refuge on board a national 
ship in Cape Fear River ; and in South Carolina, Lord William Campbell 
abandoned his goverment, and retired. 

Stirring Events Around Boston. 

Tryon, the artful and intriguing governor of New York, was still in 
or near the province, and no delegates to Congress were chosen at the 
proper time ; but after the battle of Lexington a convention was held for 
the sole purpose, and members were elected. In North Carolina the people 
of Mecklenburg County having, on the 20th of May, assembled at Char- 
lotte, passed resolutions embodying the bold declaration of Independence — 
the first made in America. 

In May, 1775, the British army in Boston received a powerful reinforce- 
ment from England, under Generals Howe, Clinton and Burgoyne. General 
Gage, thus reinforced, proceeded to bold measures. He proclaimed martial 
law throughout Massachusetts. He, however, offered pardon to all rebels 
who would return to their allegiance, except Samuel Adams and John 
Hancock. General Gage had, in the meantime, agreed to permit the people 
of Boston to depart ; but after a portion had gone he changed his policy, 
and kept the remainder. 

Learning that the British threatened to penetrate into the country 
Congress recommended to the council of war to take such measures as 
would put them on the defensive, and for this purpose a detachment of one 
thousand men, under Colonel Prescott, was ordered, on the night of the 
16th of June, to throw up a breastwork on Bunker's Hill, near Charlestown. 
By some mistake the troops entrenched themselves on Breed's Hill, nearer 
to Boston. They labored with such silence and activity that by return of 



166 



PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 



light they had nearly completed a strong redoubt without being observed. 
At dawn, however, the British, discovering the advance of the Americans, 
commenced a severe cannonade from the ships in the river; but this not 

interrupting them. 
General Gage sent 
a body of nearly 
3,000 men, under 
Generals Howe and 
Pigot. They left 
Boston in boats, 
and landed under 
the protection of 
the shipping in 
Charlestown, at the 
extreme point of 
the peninsula, and 
advanced against 
the Americans. — 
Generals Clinton 
and Burgoyne took 
their station on an 
eminence in Bos- 
ton, commanding a 
distinct view of the 
hill. The spires of 
the churches, the 
roofs of the houses, 
and every height 
which commanded 
a view of the bat- 
tle-ground, were covered with spectators, taking deep and opposite inter- 
ests in the conflict. 

The British set fire to Charlestown, and amidst the glare of its flames 
glittering upon their burnished arms they advance to the attack. The 
Americans wait their approach in silence, until they are within ten rods 
of the redoubt ; then, taking a steady aim, and having advantage of the 
ground, they pour upon the British a deadly fire. They are thrown into 




GENERAL BURGOYNE. 



PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 



167 



confusion, and many of their officers fall. They are thus twice repulsed. 
Clinton now arrives ; his men again rally, advance towards the fortifications, 
and attack the redoubt on three sides at once. The ammunition of the 
colonists failed. Courage was no longer of any avail, and Colonel Prescott, 
who commanded the redoubt, ordered a retreat. The Americans were obliged 
to pass Charlestown Neck, where they were exposed to a galling fire from 




BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

the ships in the harbor. Here fell General Joseph Warren, whose death 
was a severe blow to his mourning country. 

In this engagement three thousand men, composing the flower of the 
British army, were engaged. Their killed and wounded were more than a 
thousand, while the loss of the Americans was less than half that number. 
Although the ground was lost, the Americans regarded this as a victory, 
and the British as a defeat. Or, if they pretended otherwise, it was 
tauntingly asked, how many more such triumphs their army could afford? 



168 PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 

The boldness with which the undisciplined troops of the colonies so long 
withstood the charges of the regulars increased their confidence, and con- 
vinced the Knglish that they had to contend with a resolute foe. 

On the fifteenth of June Congress, still in session, elected, by a unani- 
mous vote, George Washington, who was then present, and had, from their 
first meeting at Philadelphia, been a delegate from Virginia, to the high 
office of general and commander-in-chief of the army of the United Colonies. 
He declined all compensation for his services, for as money could not buy 
him from his endeared home, and as he served his country for justice, and 
the love he bore to her cause, he would not allow his motives to be mis- 
construed. He should keep an exact account of his expenses, and those 
Congress, he doubted not, would discharge. 

The British Army Harrassed by Washington. 

Artemas Ward, of Massachusetts; Colonel Lee, formerly a British officer; 
Philip Schuyler, of New York, and Israel Putnam, of Connecticut, then 
before Boston, were at the same time appointed to the rank of major- 
generals; and Horatio Gates to that of adjutant-general. Soon after his 
election Washington set out for the camp at Cambridge. He found the British 
army strongly posted on Bunker's and Breed's Hill, and Boston Neck. 
The American, consisting of 14,000 men, were entrenched on the heights 
around Boston, forming a line which extended from Roxbury on the right, 
to the river Mystic on the left, a distance of twelve miles. This disposition 
of the troops greatly distressed the British, who were confined to Boston, 
and often obliged to risk their lives to obtain the means of sustenance. 

Georgia now entered into the opposition made to the claims of the 
British Parliament to tax America, and chose delegates to Congress ; after 
which the stjde of " the Thirteen United Colonies " was assumed, and by 
that title the English provinces were thenceforth designated. 

During this session of Congress also the first line of posts for the 
communication of intelligence through the United States was established. 
Benjamin Franklin was appointed, b}^ a unanimous vote, postmaster-gen- 
eral, with power to appoint as many deputies as he might deem proper 
and necessary for the conveyance of the mail from Falmouth, in Maine, to 
Savannah, in Georgia. 

While the British army was closely blockaded in Boston, congress con- 
ceived the design of sending a force into Canada ; as the movements of 



PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 



169 



Sir Guy Carleton, the governor of that province, seemed to threaten an 
invasion of the northwestern frontier. Two expeditions were accordingly- 
organized and dispatched, one by the way of Champlain, under Generals 
Schuyler and Montgomery, the other by the way of the river Kenne- 
bec, under the command of Arnold. General Lee, with twelve hundred 
volunteers from Connecticut, was directed to repair to New York, and 
with the aid of the 
inhabitants, forti- 
fy the city , and the 
highlands on the 
Hudson River. 

In pursuance of 
the plan of guard- 
ing the northern 
frontier by taking 
Canada, Generals 
Montgomery and 
Schuyler with two 
regiments of New 
York militia, and 
a body of men 
from New Eng- 
land, amounting 
in the whole to bunker hill monument, erected in 1825. 

about two thousand, were ordered to move in that direction, while Gen- 
eral Montgomery was directed to proceed with the troops then in readiness 
and lay siege to St. John's. 

Colonel Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga, had a command under Mont- 
gomery ; and was sent by him with about eighty men to secure a party 
of hostile Indians. Having effected his object, he was returning to head- 
quarters, when he was met by Major Brown, who, with a party, had been 
detached on a tour of observation. Without orders the}^ rashly undertook 
to make a descent upon Montreal. They divided into two parties, intend- 
ing to assail the city at opposite points. Allen crossed the river in the 
night, as had been proposed ; and although Brown and his party failed, 
he, with only eighty men, by desperate valor attempted to maintain his 
ground though attacked by Carleton, at the head of several hundreds. 




170 PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 

Compelled to yield he aud his brave associates were loaded with irons and 
sent to England. 

On the 13th of October a small fort at Chamble, which was but slightly 
guarded, was taken by the Americans. Several pieces of artillery, and 
about one hundred and twenty barrels of gunpowder, were the fruits of the 
victory. This enabled Montgomery to proceed with vigor against St. 
John's. Carleton, on learning the situation of that fort, raised a force of 
eight hundred men for its relief, and embarked them in boats to cross 
the St. Lawrence to Longueil. Colonel Warner, who was stationed there 
with three hundred mountaineers, and a small piece of artillery, received 
him with a brisk fire ; prevented his landing, and compelled him to 
return to Montreal. 

When the news of this repulse reached Montgomery, he sent a flag to 
Major Preston, who commanded the besieged fortress, summoning him to 
surrender. The summons was obeyed on the 3d of November, and the fort 
entered by the Americans. 

Escaped Down the River in the Night. 

Carleton now abandoned Montreal to its fate, and made his escape 
down the river in the night, in a small canoe with muffled oars. The next 
day, Montgomery, after engaging to allow the inhabitants their own laws, 
the free exercise of their religion, and the privilege of governing them- 
selves, entered the town. His benevolent conduct induced many Canadians 
to join his standard: yet some of his own troops deserted, from severity 
of climate, and many, whose time of enlistment had nearly expired, insisted 
on returning home. With the remnant of his army, consisting of only 
three hundred men, he marched towards Quebec, expecting to meet there 
troops under Arnold, who were to penetrate by the way of the rivers Kene- 
bec and Chaudiere. 

Arnold commenced his march with one thousand men about the mid- 
dle of September. After sustaining almost incredible hardships in the 
trackless forests of Maine, he arrived at Point Levi, opposite Quebec, on 
the 9tli of November. On the night of the 13tli he crossed the St. Law- 
rence, and climbing the same precipice which Wolfe had ascended, he 
formed his army, now reduced to seven hundred men, on the heights near 
the memorable plains of Abraham, and advanced in the hope of surprising 
the city. Being convinced, by a cannon shot from the wall, that the gar- 



PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 171 

rison had obtained knowledge of his approach, and were ready to receive 
him, and feeling his force to be insufficient, either to carry on a regular 
siege, or hazard a battle, he retired on the 18th, to Point aux Trembles, 
there to await the arrival of Montgomery. 

Spirited Attack upon Quebec. 

General Carleton, on retiring from Montreal, had proceeded to Quebec, 
and now had a garrison of 1500 men. Montgomery joined Arnold on the 
1st of December. The united forces of the Americans amounted to less 
than 1000 effective men. On the 5tli Montgomery sent a flag to the 
governor, with a summons to surrender. Carleton ordered his troops to fire 
upon the bearer, and forbade all communication. The American general 
attempted to batter the w^alls and harass the city by repeated attacks. 
During one night he constructed a battery of ice, where he planted his 
cannon ; but they were not of sufficient force to make any material impres- 
sion, or to alarm the garrison. 

Montgomery now found himself under circumstances even more critical 
and embarrassing than those which had sixteen years before environed 
Wolfe at the same place. The severe Canadian winter had set in, and 
several feet of snow covered the ground, and his troops had suffered much 
already. Yet to abandon the enterprise was to relinquish fame and disap- 
point the expectations, however unreasonable they might be, of his too 
sanguine countrymen. He, therefore, with the unanimous approbation of 
his ofiicers, came to the desperate determination of storming the city. 

Just at the dawn of the last day of the year, and during a violent snow 
storm, the troops marched from the camp, in four divisions, commanded by 
Montgomery, Arnold, Brown, and Livingston. The two latter were to make 
feigned attacks ; but, impeded by the snow, they did not arrive in season to 
execute their orders. Arnold and Montgomery were to make an assault at 
opposite points. Montgomery, at the head of his valiant band, was obliged 
to advance through a narrow path, leading under the projecting rocks 
of a precipice. 

When they reached a block-house and picket he assisted with his own 
hands to open a passage for his troops, encouraging, by his voice and his 
example, his brave companions. They advanced boldly and rapidly to force 
the barrier, when a single and accidental discharge from a cannon, proved 
fatal to this brave and excellent of&cer, and thus destroyed the hopes of the 



172 PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 

enterprise. Several of Montgomery's best o£&cers shared his fate ; and 
Colonel Campbell, on whom the command devolved, found it impossible to 
pursue the advantages already gained. 

In the meantime, Arnold, at the head of his detachment, was intrepidly 
advancing, when he received a musket ball in the leg, and was carried from 
the field. Colonel Morgan, who succeeded him, led on the troops with vigor, 
and soon made himself master of the second barrier. But the British, freed 
from their apprehension of attack at an}^ other point, turned their undivided 
force upon his party. Three hours did this resolute band resist, although 
attacked both in front and in rear; but at length were compelled to 
surrender themselves prisoners of war. The Americans lost 400 men in 
this disastrous attempt. 

The treatment of Carleton to his prisoners did honor to his humanity. 
Arnold, wounded as he was, retired with the remainder of his army, to the 
distance of three miles below Quebec, where, though inferior in numbers to 
the garrison, they kept the place in a state of blockade, and, in the course 
of the winter, reduced it to distress for want of provisions. 

Recruiting the American Army. 

Although Britain was preparing a formidable force, yet the American 
army was not only reduced in numbers, but, at the close of the year 1775, 
was almost destitute of necessary supplies. The terms of enlistment of all 
the troops had expired in December, and, although measures had been 
taken for recruiting the army, yet on the last day of December, there were 
but 9,650 men enlisted for the ensuing year. General Washington, finding 
how slowly the army was recruiting, proposed to Congress to try the 
influence of a bounty; but his proposal was not acceded to until late in 
January, and it was not until the middle of February, that the reg- 
ular army amounted to 14,000. In addition to these, the commander- 
in-chief, being vested by Congress with the power to call out the 
militia, made a requisition on the authorities of Massachussetts for 6,000, 
which were furnished. 

Washington had continued the blockade of Boston during the winter 
of 1775-6, and at last resolved to bring the enemy to action, or drive them 
from the town. On the night of the 4th of March, a detachment, under 
the command of General Thomas, silently reached Dorchester Heights, and 
there constructed, in a single night, a redoubt, which menaced the British 




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PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 



173 



shipping with destruction. When the light of the morning discovered to 
General Howe the advantage the Americans had gained, he preceived that 
no alternative remained for him but to dislodge them, or evacuate the place. 
He immediately dispatched a few regiments to attempt the former, but a 
violent tempest of wind and rain rendered their efforts ineffectual. 

The Americans had, however, continued with unremitting industry, to 
strengthen and improve their works, until they were now too dangerous to 
be neglected, and too secure to be forced, and it was determined, in a 
council of war, to evacuate the town. Accordingly, on the morning of the 
17th, the whole Brit- 



ish force, with such 
of the loyalists as 
chose to follow their 
fortunes, set sail for 
Halifax. As the rear 
of the British troops 
were embarking, the 
forces of Washington 
entered the town in 
triumph. 

The British fleet, 
destined to the re- 
duction of the south- 
ern colonies, sailed, 




MEDAL STRUCK BY CONGRESS IN HONOR OF THE 
RECAPTURE OF BOSTON. 



under Sir Peter Parker, to attack Charleston, where they arrived earl 3^ in 
June, 1776. The marines were commanded by General Clinton. An inter- 
cepted letter had given the Carolinians such information of the enemy's 
movements, that they were not unprepared for their reception. On Sulli- 
van's Island, at the entrance of Charleston harbor, they had constructed 
a fort of the palmetto tree, which resembles the cork. The militia had 
been called out, under the command of General Lee, now exceedingly pop- 
ular ; and they formed a force five or six thousand strong, for the defence 
of the menaced capital. The general was ably seconded by Colonels Gads- 
den, Moultrie, and Thompson. 

The palmetto fort was garrisoned by about 400 men, commanded by 
Colonel Moultrie. On the morning of the 28th of June, the British ships 
opened their broadsides upon it. The discharge of artiller}^ upon the little 



174 



PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 



fort was incessant, but the balls were received by the palmetto wood, and 
buried as in earth ; while Moultrie, and the brave Carolinians under his 

command, returned 
the fire, and defended 
the fortification with 
such spirit, that it 
has ever since been 
called by the name 
of Moultrie. 

Once during the 
day, after a thunder- 
ing discharge from 
the British cannon, 
the flag of the fort 
was no longer seen to 
wave; and the Amer- 
icans, who watched 
the battle from the 
opposite shore, were, 
every moment, ex- 
pecting to see the 
British troops mount 
the parapets in tri- 
umph. But none ap- 
peared, and, in a few 
moments, the striped 
banner of America 
was once more un- 
furled to their view. 
i The staff had been 
SERGEANT JASPER AT FORT MOULTRIE. Carried away by a 

shot, and the flag had fallen upon the outside of the fort. A brave ser- 
geant, by the name of Jasper, jumped over the wall, and, amidst a shower 
of bullets, recovered and fastened it in its place. At evening, the British, 
completely foiled, drew off their ships, with the loss of two hundred men; 
and, a few days after, they set sail, with the troops on board, for the vicinity 
of New York, where the whole British force had been ordered to assemble. 




PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 175 

It had early occurred to Washington, that the central situation of New 
York, with the numerous advantages attending the possession of that city, 
would render it an object of great importance to the British. Under this 
impression, before the enemy left Boston, General Lee had been detached 
from Cambridge, to put Long Island and New York in a state of defense. 
Soon after the evacuation of Boston, the commander-in-chief followed, and, 
with the greater part of his army, fixed his headquarters in the city 
of New York. 

Washington showed how well he deserved the confidence reposed in 
him, by making every exertion to increase his army, which, enfeebled as 
it was when he commenced his march, had hourly diminished. His troops 
were unfed amidst fatigue ; unshod, while their bleeding feet were forced 
rapidly over the sharp projections of frozen ground. In such a situation, 
the wonder is not, that many died and many deserted, but that enough 
remained to keep up the show of opposition. 

In this distressing situation, Washington manifested to his troops all 
the firmness of the commander, while he showed all the tenderness of the 
father. He visited the sick, paid every attention in his power to the wants 
of the aiTny, praised their constancy, represented their sufferings to Con- 
gress, and encouraged their despairing minds, by holding out the prospects 
of a better future ; while the serene and benignant countenance with which 
he covered his aching heart, made them believe that their beloved and 
sagacious commander was himself animated with the prospects which he 
portrayed to them. 




CHAPTER XX. 

THE AMERICANS RESOLVED TO BE FREE. 

N the 7th of June, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, made 
a motion in Congress for declaring the colonies free and inde- 
pendent States. The most vigorous exertions had been made 
by the friends of independence to prepare the minds of the 
people for this bold measure. Among the numerous writers 
on the momentous question, the most luminous and forcible was Thomas 
Paine. His pamphlet, entitled "Common sense," was read and understood 
by all. While it demonstrated the necessity, the advantage, and the prac- 
ticability of independence, it treated kingly government and hereditary 
succession with ridicule and opprobrium. Two years before, the inhabitants 
of the colonies were the loyal subjects of the king of England, and wished, 
not for independence, but for the constitutional liberty of the British subject. 
But the crown of England haa, for their assertion of this right, declared 
them out of its protection, rejected their petitions, shackled their commerce, 
and finally employed foreign mercenaries to destroy them. Such were the 
exciting causes which, being stirred up and directed by the master-spirits 
of the times, had, in the space of two years, changed the tide of public 
feeling in America, and throughout her extensive regions produced the 
general voice — We will be free. 

Satisfied, by indubitable signs, that such was the resolution of the 
people. Congress deliberately and solemnly decided to declare it to the 
•world; and the Declaration of Independence was agreed to in Congress 
•on the 4th of July, 1776. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Frank- 
lin, Roger Sherman and R. R. Livingston had been appointed, on the 11th 
of June, to prepare a Declaration of Independence. It was agreed by this 
committee that each one should make such a draft as his judgment and 
feelings should dictate; and that, upon comparing them together, the one 
should be chosen as the report of the committee which should prove most 
conformable to the wishes of the whole. Mr. Jefferson's paper was the first 

read, and every member of the committee determined, spontaneously, to 
176 



THE AMERICANS RESOLVED TO BE FREE 



177 



suppress his own production, observing that it was unworthy to bear a 
competition with that which they had just heard. 



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THE SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

A long enumeration of the oppressions of the British government is 
therein made, and closed with the assertion that "a prince, whose character 
is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be 
the ruler of a free people." 

12 



178 



THE AMERICANS RESOLVED TO BE FREE, 



The signing of this declaration by the American Congress was a 
momentous procedure. That firm band of patriots well knew that, in 
affixing their signatures, they were, in the eyes of England, committing 
the very act of treason and rebellion; and that, in case of her ultimate 
success, it was their own death-warrant which they signed. Their country- 
men felt that there was now no receding from the contest, without devoting 
to death these their political fathers, who had thus fearlessly made them- 
selves the organs of declaring what was equally the determination of all. 

Thus it was now the general feeling that 
the die was cast, and nothing remained but — 
"liberty or death!" 

Congress was in session in the hall of the 
State House in Philadelphia when the Decla- 
ration of Independence was adopted. In the 
spire of this venerable building hung a bell, 
inscribed with the words of Scripture: "Pro- 
claim liberty throughout all the land unto all 
the inhabitants thereof" On the morning of 
the fourth of July vast crowds assembled around 
the building, as it was known that Congress 
would on that day take definite action upon 
the declaration. The bell-ringer stationed him- 
self in the tower, ready to proclaim the good 
news the moment it should be announced to 
him, and had posted his little son at the door of the hall to await the 
signal of the door-keeper. 

When the announcement of the vote was made the door-keeper gave the 
signal and the boy ran quickly to the tower. The old man heard him coming, 
and clutched the bell-rope with a firm grasp. The next instant the glad cry 
of the boy's voice was heard. " Ring! ring!" he cried, and then the deep, 
sonorous tones of the bell went rolling out of the tower, and were answered 
with a mighty shout from the assembled throng without. The declaration 
was received by all the States and by the army with enthusiasm. 

There is a common impression that the old Liberty Bell was cracked 
on the day it rang out liberty for the American people. This, however, is 
a mistake. The bell was cracked in 1835, while tolling for Chief Justice 
Marshall. It is the one sacred relic of the nation, is an object of great 




OLD INDEPENDENCE BELL- 



THE AMERICANS RESOLVED TO BE FREE. 



179 



interest to all Americans, and is always regarded with a feeling somewhat 
akin to veneration. 

The thirteen united colonies were now the thirteen United States. It 
should not be forgotten that the declaration did not make the colonies 
independent states, or states in any sense. It was simply their announce- 
ment to the world that they had, each for itself, by the exercise of its own 
sovereign" power, assumed the independence which rightfully belonged to it. 

The Declaration of Independence put an end to all the hopes that had 
been cherished of an accommodation with Great Britain, and caused those 
who were still wavering to embrace the cause of their country. It relieved 
Congress of the disadvantage 
under which it had hitherto 
acted, and enabled it to pursue 
a more vigorous and decisive 
policy in prosecution of the war. 
There was no retreat now ; 
nothing remained but to con- 
tinue the struggle until Great 
Britain should be compelled to 
acknowledge the independence 
of the states, or they should 
be reduced to the condition of 
conquered provinces. 

Soldiers must have a flag 
under which to fight. The first one hoisted over the American troops in 
Boston contained thirteen stripes like the Star Spangled Banner, but instead 
of the white stars in a blue field, it had a union of the crosses of Saint 
Andrew and Saint George. It is not certain that the Americans had any 
flag at. the Battle of Bunker Hill, though there is a tradition that one floated 
over Prescott's redoubt with the words, "Come if 3^ou Dare." 

Gadsen, of South Carolina, on the 10th of February, presented the 
Colonial Assembly with a flag of the American navy, showing a rattlesnake 
with thirteen rattles, and the motto, "Don't tread on me." There were other 
variations, but the first recognized Continental standard was the one that 
Washington raised on the 2d of January, 177G. By resolution of Congress, 
June 14, 1777, this was replaced by the flag just as it is to-day, excepting 
that it then had only thirteen stars. Whenever a new state is admitted to 




RATTLESNAKE FLAG. 



180 



THE AMERICANS RESOLVED TO BE FREE. 



the Union another star is added to the constellation of the flag on the 4th 
of July following its admission. 

The troops from Halifax, under the command of General Howe, after 
touching at Sandy Hook, took possession of Staten Island on the 2d of 
July; and those from England, commanded by Admiral Howe, landed at the 
same place on the 12th. About the same time Clinton arrived with the 
troops which he had reconducted from the expedition against Charleston ; 
and Commodore Hotham, with the expected reinforcements from England. 
These, with several Hessian regiments which were daily expected, and which 
had been hired by Great Britain, would make up an army of 35,000 of the 
best troops of Europe. 

The American army occupied New York and its vicinity. Two de- 
tachments guarded Governor's Island and Paulus Hook. The militia, under 
the American Clinton, were stationed at East and West Chester, and New 

Rochelle, to prevent the British landing in force on 
the north shore, penetrating to Kingsbridge, and thus 
inclosing the Americans in the island. A still larger 
portion of the army was placed by Washington on 
Brooklyn Heights, in a fortified camp, extending from 
Wallabout Bay to Gowanus' Cove, of which the com- 
mand was given to Greene. 

This able officer, daily visited by his commander, 
FLAG AND SHIELD, carefully strengthened his fortifications and made him- 
self acquainted with every defile by which they might be approached. 
Unhappily he was smitten with fever, and four days before the battle of 
Brooklyn, Putnam received the command. Sterling and Sullivan appear 
to have acted under him. 

On the 22d of August the English landed without opposition on Long 
Island, between the villages of New Utrecht and Gravesend. They extended 
themselves to Flatlands, distant four miles from the Americans, and sepa- 
rated from them by a range of wood-covered hills, called the heights of 
Gowanus, which, ruTining to the northeast, there divide the island. 

About midnight of the 2Gth Howe sent General Grant to attack the 
Americans from the left, thus inducing the belief that against this post 
the main strength of the British ^vould be directed. Here he was met and 
bravely fought by General Sterling, with a detachment from the American 
camp. At daybreak on the 27th the Hessians, under General de Heister, 





PUTNAM'S ESCAPE AT HORSE NECK 



THE AMERICANS RESOLVED TO BE FREE. 



181 



attacked from tlie centre, and General Sullivan, who commanded the forces 
in front of the American camp, led them to repel the assailants ; little 
thinking that their attack was merely a stratagem to divert his attention 
from the real point of 
danger. The ships 
also made much noise 
by a show of cannon- 
ading. 

Colonel Miles was 
sent bv the Ameri- ^P^^ "7^S 
cans to guard the 
Jamaica pass, and re- 
connoitre the move- 
ments of the enemy. 
This service, as events 
proved, was the most 
important, and the 
worst performed of 
any on the side of the 
Americans. It was 
here that the British 
generals made their 
grand effort, and here *^^ 
that the Americans 
suffered a fatal sur- 
prise. The right wing 
of the English, which 
was the most numer- 
ous, and entirely com- 
posed of select troops, 
was commanded by 
General Clinton ; and American marksman in a tree. 

before Miles perceived their approach, they had obtained possession of the 
Jamaica pass, upon the heights. Generals Percy and Cornwallis followed 
with the main army. Scouts sent out by Sullivan were captured ; and he 
was thus left in ignorance of the enemy's approach, until his flank was 
attacked by their infantr3^ 




182 THE AMERICANS RESOLVED TO BE FREE. 

He instantly ordered a retreat ; but he was intercepted by the Eng- 
lish, who now attacked him in the rear and compelled his troops to throw 
themselves into the neighboring woods. There they were met by the Hes- 
sians, who drove them back upon the English. Signal guns here informed 
Grant and de Heister, and they made earnest their feigned attack. The 
distressed Americans were alternately chased and intercepted, until, at 
length, several regiments cut their way, with desperate valor, through the 
midst of the enemy, and gained the camp of Putnam ; but a great part of 
the detachments were killed or taken prisoners. The loss of the Ameri- 
cans was variously estimated from one to four thousand. The British lost, 
in killed and wounded, three hundred and sixty-seven. 

Great Disaster to the Patriot Army. 

In the height of the engagement General Washington crossed to 
Brooklyn from New York. He saw his best troops slaughtered or taken 
prisoners, and with a glance which searched the future, he viewed in its 
consequences the terrible magnitude of the disaster, and he uttered an 
exclamation of anguish. But his prudence and wisdom remained unshaken. 
He might, at this moment, have drawn all his troops from the encamp- 
ment ; and also called over all the forces in New York to take part in 
the conflict ; but he could have no reasonable hope of recovering the 
battle; and, with true heroism, he "preserved himself and his army for 
a happier future." 

On the night of the 29th, Washington, by advice of a council of his 
ofiicers, and aided by a dense fog, withdrew the remainder of his troops 
from Brooklyn to New York ; to which place the detachment from Gover- 
nor's Island also retired. Finding that it would be impossible to defend 
the city he removed his forces to the heights of Harlem. 

About this time Captain Hale, a highly interesting young officer from 
Connecticut, learning that Washington wished to ascertain the state of the 
British Army on Long Island, undertook the dangerous service of a spy. 
He entered the British army in disguise, and obtained the desired informa- 
tion ; but being apprehended in his attempt to return, he was carried before 
Sir William Howe, and by his orders was executed the next morning. This 
was the work of the infamous Cunningham, by whom many prisoners were 
inhumanly executed. Hale was refused a clergyman, and even a Bible, and 
letters which he wrote to his mother and sisters were destroyed. At the 



THE AMERICANS RESOLVED TO BE FREE. 183 

place of execution lie exclaimed, " I lament that I have but one life to lay- 
down for my country." 

On the 15th of September the British army entered and took posses- 
sion of the city of New York. A few days after a fire broke out, which 
consumed nearly one-fourth part of the buildings. It was said that the fire 
was discovered in many different places at once ; and hence some have 
supposed that it was fired by the citizens, as Moscow, when threatened by 
Napoleon, was burned,- to deprive its enemies of its hospitable shelter. 

On the 16th of September, the day after the British took possession of 
New York, a considerable body of their troops appeared in the plain between 
the two armies. Washington ordered Colonel Knowlton and Major Ivcech 
with a detachment, to get in their rear, while he amused them with prepa- 
rations to attack them in front. The plan succeeded ; and although the 
brave Knowlton was killed, the rencontre was favorable to the Americans, 
as it served, in some degree, to restore that confidence in themselves which 
their preceding misfortunes had destroyed. 

Gallant Defence of Fort Washington. 

General Howe next turned his attention towards the forts, Washington 
and Lee. They had been garrisoned, with the hope of preserving the 
command of the Hudson River, but the British had already, on two occa- 
sions, sent their ships past them. General Washington, foreseeing their 
danger, had written to General Greene, who commanded in that quarter, 
that if he should find Fort Washington not in a situation to sustain an 
assault, to cause it instantly to be evacuated. General Greene, believing it 
might be maintained, left it under the command of the brave Colonel Magaw, 
with a force of 2700 men. 

On the 16th of November the British attacked the fort in four different 
quarters. The Americans repelled them with such spirit that in the course 
of the day about 1200 of the assailants were killed or wounded. At length 
the Americans were forced to capitulate ; but not without securing to them- 
selves honorable terms. The prisoners taken by the British at this time 
amounted to about 2000, a greater number than had, on any previous 
occasion, fallen into their hands, and a most disastrous loss to their country. 

The British army immediately crossed the Hudson to attack Fort Lee; 
but the garrison, apprised of their approach, evacuated the fort, and, under 
the guidance of General Greene, joined the main army now at Newark. 



184 THE AMERICANS RESOLVED TO BE FREE. 

The acquisition of these two forts and the diminution of the American 
army, by the departure of those soldiers whose term of service had expired, 
encouraged the British to hope that they should be able to annihilate with 
ease the remaining force of the republicans. 

Washington, still undismayed, pursued the policy of avoiding an 
engagement, as the only hope of preserving his little army, which, at this 
time, amounted to only three thousand. Finding himself, in the post which 
he had taken at Newark, too near his triumphant foe, he removed to Bruns- 
wick. The same day Cornwallis, with a part of the British army, entered 
Newark. Washington again retreated from Brunswick to Princeton, and 
thence to Trenton. The British still pursuing, he finally crossed the 
Delaware into Pennsylvania. 

The British general, not choosing to take the trouble of constructing 
flat-bottomed boats, for carrying over his troops, and the Americans having 
been careful not to leave theirs for his accommodation, he arranged his 
German troops, to the number of 4,000, along the Delaware, from Mount 
Holly to Trenton ; placed a strong detachment at Princeton ; stationed his 
main army at New Brunswick, and retired himself to New York, to wait 
for the river to freeze, that thus he might be furnished with a convenient 
bridge ; not doubting, as it would seem, that the Americans would quietly 
wait until he was ready to pass over and destroy them. 

A Bold Move against the British. 

Washington now determined to recross the Delaware, and attack the Hes- 
sians at different points. A force of twenty-four hundred picked troops, 
under his own command, was to cross the river a few miles above Trenton, 
and attack the enemy at that place; and the same time another detach- 
ment, under Reed and Cadwallader, were to cross over from Bristol, and 
drive the Hessians, under Colonel Donop, out of Burlington. These attacks 
were to be simultaneous, and were ordered to be made at five o'clock, on 
the morning of the 26th of December. 

The division of Washington was accompanied by a train of twenty-four 
field-pieces, under Colonel Knox. The river was high and full of floating 
ice, and the weather was cold and stormy. A detachment of boats had 
been collected for the service, and was manned by Colonel Glover's regi- 
ment of Marblehead fishermen, who had ferried the army over the East 
River, in the retreat from Long Island. The march was begun just after 




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136 THE AMERICANS RESOLVED TO BE FREE. 

dark on Christmas night, and Washington hoped to reach the New Jersey- 
shore by midnight; but the passage of the river was difficult and tedious, 
by reason of the floating ice and the high wind, which repeatedly swept 
the boats out of their course, and it was four o'clock before the artillery 
was landed. The march was at once resumed. Washington, with the main 
body, moved by a wide circuit to gain the north of the town, while a 
detachment, under Sullivan, was ordered to advance by the river road, and 
attack the enemy from the west and south sides. 

The Enemy Taken by Surprise and Routed. 

A blinding storm of hail and snow delayed the advance of the troops, 
but also concealed their movements from the enemy ; and it was eight 
o'clock before Trenton was reached. The attack was at once begun, and 
was pressed with vigor. The Hessians were completely taken by surprise ; 
they flew to arms promptly, but by this time the Americans had gained 
the main street, and were sweeping it with a battery of six pieces. Colonel 
Rahl was mortally wounded while leading his grenadiers to the charge, and 
his men, seized with a panic, endeavored to retreat. Finding that they 
were surrounded, about one thousand of them threw down their arms, and 
surrendered. The remainder succeeded in escaping, and joining Colonel 
Donop at Burlington. 

Two days after the action, Washington crossed his whole army over 
the Delaware, and took quarters at Trenton. Howe was thunderstruck by 
this astonishing reverse. Lord Cornwallis was in New York, on the point 
of embarking for England ; but the commander ordered him instantly to 
New Jersey, where he joined the British forces, now assembled at Princeton. 
Leaving a part of his troops at this place, he immediately proceeded towards 
Trenton, Avith the intention of giving battle to the Americans, and arrived, 
with his vanguard, on the 1 st of January. 

Washington, knowing the inferiority of his force, sensible, too, that 
flight would be almost as fatal as defeat, conceived the project of marching 
to Princeton, and attacking the troops left in that place. About midnight, 
leaving his fires burning briskly, that his army should not be missed, he 
silently decamped, and gained, by a circuitous route, the rear of the enemy. 
At sunrise, the van of the American forces met, unexpectly, two British 
regiments, which were on the march to join Cornwallis. 

A conflict ensued : the Americans gave way : — all was at stake : Wash- 



THE AMERICANS RESOLVED TO BE FREE. 187 

ington himself, at this decisive moment, led the main body. The enemy- 
were routed, and fled. Washington pressed forward towards Princeton, 
where one regiment of the enemy yet remained. A jDart of these saved 
themselves by flight ; the remainder, about three hundred in number, were 
made prisoners. The number killed on the side of the British was upwards 
of one hundred ; that of the Americans was less ; but among them was the 
excellent General JNIercer, with several other valuable officers. 

Thrilling were the emotions with which these successes were hailed by 
a disheartened nation. Even to this day, when an unexpected and thrilling 
event is to be related, the speaker, who perchance knows not the origin of 
the proverb, joyfully exclaims, "Great news from the Jerseys!" 

Continued Successes of the Revolutionists. 

On hearing the cannonade from Princeton, Cornwallis, apprehensive 
for the safety of his Brunswick stores, immediately put his army in motion 
for that place. Washington, on his approach, retired to Morristown. When 
somewhat refreshed he again took the field ; and having gained possession 
of Newark, Woodbridge, Elizabethtown, and indeed of all the enemy's 
posts in New Jersey, except New Brunswick and Amboy, he retired to 
secure winter quarters at Morristown. 

Washington's military glory now rose to its meridian. Indeed, noth- 
ing in the history of war shows a leader in a more advantageous point of 
light than the last events of this campaign did the commanding general. 
Where can we find a passage in the life of Hannibal, of Julius Caesar, or 
Napoleon, in which the soldier's fearless daring and contempt of personal 
danger more strikingly blends ^s\\\\ the commander's fertility of resource, 
promptness to decide and act, vigor to follow up success, and moderation 
to stop at the precise point between bravery and rashness ? But Hannibal 
made war for revenge ; Caesar and Napoleon, for personal ambition ; Wash- 
ington for justice, for the rights of his country and of mankind. 

On the 12th of Jul}^, 177C, a committee, who had been appointed by 
Congress to prepare and digest a form of confederation, reported certain 
articles, the discussion of which occupied a great share of the attention of 
that body until November 15, 1777, the da}^ of their final adoption. They 
were subsequently agreed to by the several state governments. By these 
articles it was determined that, on the first Monday of November in each 
year, a general Congress should be convoked, of deputies from each of the 



188 THE AMERICANS RESOLVED TO BE FREE. 

States, and invested with all the powers which belong to the sovereigns of 
other nations. These powers were set forth, and the limits between the 
authority of the state and national government as clearly defined, as was 
at the time practicable. These " Articles of Confederation '' gave to the 
nation the style of the " United States of America," and formed the basis of 
the American government until the adoption of the federal constitution. 

Unlimited power was granted by Congress to Washington to raise 
troops, command them, and carry on the war, an act which showed the 
unbounded confidence reposed in him by all who were engaged in the 
great struggle for independence. 

Never was a more devoted or a wiser band of patriots than that which 
composed the Congress of '76. They were environed with difficulties which 
would have utterly discouraged men of weaker heads or fainter hearts. 
They were without any power except the power to recommend. They had 
an exhausted army to recruit, amidst a discouraged people, and a powerful 
and triumphant foe ; and all this, not merely without money, but almost 
without credit ; for the bills, which they had formerly issued, had greatly 
depreciated and were daily depreciating ; yet, amidst all these discourage- 
ments, they held on their course of patriotic exertions undismayed. 




WASHINGTON REVIEWING THE ARMY. 




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CHAPTER XXI. 

THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY. 

)HE first attempts of the enemy, during the campaign of 1777, 
were against the American stores collected at Courtland Manor, 
in New York, and at Danbury in Connecticut. Peekskill, the 
port of the Manor, was then in command of Colonel McDougal. 
The 23d of March the British, under Colonel Bird, attacked 
this post ; and McDougal, knowing his small force could not defend it, 
destroyed the magazines and retired to the back country. The 25th of 
April two thousand men, under Governor Tryon, major of the royalists, or 
tories, having passed the sound, landed between Fairfield and Norwalk. 
The next day, proceeding to Danbury, he compelled the garrison, under 
Colonel Huntington, to retire ; and not only destroyed the stores, but 
burned the town. 

About this time the effects of the mission to France began to appear. 
Congress had, with great judgment, selected Dr. Franklin as one of the 
commissioners. A profound knowledge of human nature, united with a 
warm and cheerful benevolence, had given to this philosopher a manner 
possessing a peculiar charm, attractive to all, however different their 
tastes or pursuits. 

Several individuals of distinction in France formed the generous reso- 
lution of embarking in the cause of America, and combating in her armies. 
The most distinguished of these was the young Marquis de Lafayette. 
With everything to attach him to his country, rank, wealth, a deserving 
and beloved bride, he was yet moved by compassion to suffering virtue, 
and by indignation against oppression, to leave all that was individually 
dear, to expose his life, and impair his fortune in the cause of American 
liberty, and the rights of man. He had early communicated his resolution 
to the commissioners. 

After hearing of the disasters which followed the battle of Long Island, 
they felt bound to make known to him the despairing state of their countr}'-; 
and to say that such was its extreme poverty, that they could not even 

189 



190 



THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY. 



provide him with a vessel for his conveyance. " Then," said Lafayette, 
" if your country is indeed reduced to this extremity, this is the moment 
that my departure to join its armies will render it the most essential ser- 
vice." His arrival caused a deep sensation of joy among the people. 

Congress soon made 
him a major-general in 
the army ; and Wash- 
ington received him 
into his family, and 
dV^^^^' \ regarded him through 

"^ life with parental affec- 

tion. 

On the night of 
July 10, 1777, occurred 
the capture of the Brit- 
ish General Prescott, 
then in command on 
Rhode Island. Colonel 
Barton, with forty coun- 
try militia, from War- 
wick, under his com- 
mand, proceeded ten 
miles in whale boats, 
landed between New- 
port and Bristol, and 
marched a mile to Pres- 
cott's quarters, took 
the general from his 
bed, and conducted him 
THE MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE. with dispatch toa place 

of safety on the main land, where he remained secure from molestation. 

Meantime great preparations were making for a descent upon the 
United States from Canada. The plan of dividing the states, by effecting 
a junction of the British army through Lake Champlain and the Hudson, 
was, at the beginning of this year, looked to, by the whole British nation, 
as the certain means of effecting the reduction of America. This scheme 
had gained new favor in England, by the representations of General Bur- 




THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY. 



191 



goyne, an officer who had served under Carleton, and whose knowledge of 
American affairs was, therefore, undisputed. Burgoyne, by his importunities 
with the British ministry, obtained the object for which he had made a 
voyage to England. He was appointed to the command of all the troops 
in Canada, to the prejudice of Governor Carleton, and was furnished with 
an army and militarj^ stores. With these he arrived at Quebec in Ma}^ 

General Carleton exhibited an honorable example of moderation and 
patriotism, by seconding Burgoyne in his preparations, with great diligence 




GENERAL BURGOYNE ADDRESSING THE INDIANS. 

and energy. To increase the army, he exerted, not only his authorit}^ as 
governor, but also his influence among his numerous friends and partisans. 
Though himself averse to using the savages, yet, such being the orders of 
the British government, he aided in bringing to the field even a greater 
number than could be employed. 

Burgoyne's army was provided with a formidable train of artillery. 
The army consisted of 7,173 British and German troops, besides several 
thousands of Canadians and Indians. Burgoyne's plan of operation was, 
that Colonel St. Leger should proceed with a detachment by the St. Law- 



192 THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY. 

rence, Oswego, and Fort Stanwix, to Albany. Burgoyne, proceeding by 
Cliamplain and the Hudson, was to meet St. Leger at Albany, and both 
join General Clinton at New York. 

His preparations completed, Burgoyne moved forward with his army, 
and made his first encampment on the western shore of Lake Champlain, 
at the river Boquet. Here, in two instances, he betra3^ed that vanity 
which was his characteristic weakness. He made a speech to his Indian 
allies, in which, in terms of singular energy, and with an imposing manner, 
he endeavored to persuade them to change their savage mode of warfare. 

Daring Exploit of Two American Officers. 

St, Leger had united with Sir John Johnson, and having nearly 2,000 
troops, including savages, they invested Fort Stanwix, then commanded by 
Colonel Gansevoort. General Herkimer, having collected the militia, 
marched to the relief of Gansevoort. He fell into an Indian ambuscade on 
the Gth of August, and was defeated and slain, with 400 of his troops. 
St. Leger, wishing to proiit by his victory, pressed upon the fort. In this 
perilous moment. Colonel Willet and Lieutenant Stockton left the fort, 
fighting their way through the English camp ; and, eluding the Indians, 
they arrived at German Flats, and proceeded to Albany, to alarm the 
country and gain assistance. 

General Schuyler, on hearing the danger of the fort, dispatched Arnold 
to its relief. On hearing of his approach, the Indians, having previously 
become dissatisfied, mutinied, and compelled St. Leger to return to Alon- 
treal. On the way, they committed such depredations on the British troops, 
as to leave the impression, that they were no less dangerous as allies, than 
as enemies. Burgoyne took possession of Skeenesborough ; and the Amer- 
ican army, under Schuyler, retired from Fort Edward to Saratoga, and, on 
the loth of August, to the islands at the mouth of the Mohawk. 

Congress was aware of the great merits and exertions of General 
Schuyler ; yet they found that the misfortunes of the army had, though 
undeservedly, made him unpopular ; and, therefore, it was necessar}- to super- 
sede him, in order to make way for a leader who should inspire a confidence 
that would draw volunteers to the service. Accordingly, General Gates was 
appointed to the command, but did not arrive at the camp until the 21st 
of August. Lincoln also was ordered to the north, as were Arnold and 
Morgan, whose active spirits and brilliant achievements, it M-as hoped, would 



THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY. 



193 



reanimate the dispirited troops. The celebrated patriot of Poland, Kosciusko, 
was also in the army, as its chief engineer. 

Burgoyne, having, with great expense of labor and time, opened a way 
for his army from Skeenesborough to the Hudson, arrived at Fort Edward 
on the 30th of July. But being in a hostile countr}^, he could obtain no 
supplies except from Ticonderoga ; and these he was compelled to transport 
by the way of Lake 
George. Learning 
that there was a 
large depot of provi- 
sions at Bennington, 
he sent 600 men, 
under Lieutenant- 
Colonel Baum, a 
trusty German offi- 
cer, to seize them. 

General Stark, 
with a body of New 
Hampshire militia, 
was on his march to 
join General Schuy- 
ler, when hearing of 
Baum's approach, he 
recruited his forces 
from the neighbor- 
ing militia, and, with 
1600 men, met him 
four miles from Ben- 
nington. After a 
sharp conflict Baum 
was killed and his 
party defeated. The general horatio gates. 

militia had dispersed to seek for plunder, when a British reinforcement of 
500 men, under Colonel Breymann, arrived. Fortunately for the Americans, 
the Green Mountain Boys, under Colonel Warner, appeared at the same 
time, and the British were again defeated and compelled to retreat. Their 

loss in both engagements was 600, the greater part of whom were taken 
13 




194 THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY. 

prisoners. The speech attributed to General Stark, as he was about to lead 
his men to battle, is worthy of being remembered. " Now, my boys," he 
said, "we must beat them, or Mollie Stark is a widow to-night." The 
American loss was inconsiderable. 

The victory at Bennington was important in its consequences, as it 
proved the turning of that tide of fortune which had set so strongly in 
favor of the British arms. It embarrassed, weakened and dispirited them ; 
and was the first step in defeating their grand scheme of dividing the 
north from the south — while it revived the drooping hearts of the Ameri- 
cans, and gave the impulse of hope to their exertions. This was strength- 
ened by an impulse of another kind, but operating in the same direction. 
A cry of vengeance for murder was raised against the British on account 
of an atrocious act, committed by their Indian allies. 

Romantic Story of Miss McCrea. 

Miss McCrea, an interesting young lady of Fort Edward, was betrothed 
to Captain Jones, then in the army of Burgoyne, which had now approached 
near to that place. Impatient for his marriage, the lover sent a party of 
Indians, as the safest convoy he could procure for his bride across the 
woods to the British camp ; having secured, as he thought, their fidelity 
by promise of reward. Confiding love prevailed in her mind over her strong 
fears of these terrible guides ; and the unfortunate girl left, by stealth, the 
kind shelter of her paternal roof 

Meantime her anxious lover, to make her safety more sure, sent out 
another party with like promises. The two met ; and the last demanded 
that the lady should be committed to them. Rather than give her up, and 
thus, as they supposed, lose their reward, the barbarians tied to a tree 
their innocent and helpless victim, and shot her dead. Instead of his bride 
the bridegroom received the bloody tresses, which the murderers had cut 
from her dying head. The sight withered and blasted him ; and, after 
lingering awhile, he died. 

The complicated miseries of a battle scene crowd the picture and con- 
fuse the mind ; and thus often produce less sympathy than a single case 
of distress. In the present instance every man could feel what it would 
have been or would be to him to have his bride torn, as it were, from his 
arms, shrieking, and murdered in the hour of his love and expectation ; 
and every pains was used to awaken these sympathies to their utmost 



THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY. 195 

extent, and turn them against the British who had let loose such blood- 
hounds upon the land. There was a general rising in the northern region 
and it seemed as if every man, who could bear arms, was rushing to the 
camp of Gates, to avenge the death of Miss McCrea, no less than to 
deliver his country. 

The army at the islands having thus been reinforced, and now amount- 
ing to 5000, Gates left that encampment the 8th of September, and proceeding 
to Stillwater, occupied Bemus Heights. On the 12th Burgoyne crossed the 
Hudson, and on the 14th encamped at Saratoga, about three miles distant 
from the American army. An obstinate and bloody battle occurred at 
Stillwater on the 19th. At first it was partial, commencing with a skirmish 
between advanced parties. Each side sent successive reinforcements to their 
own combatants, until nearly the whole were in action. The American troops 
took advantage of a wood which lay between the two camps, and poured 
from it a fire too deadly to be withstood. 

Hard-Fought Battle at Saratoga. 

The British lines broke ; and the Americans, rushing from their 
coverts, pursued them to an eminence, where their flanks being supported, 
they rallied. Charging in their turn, they drove the Americans into the 
woods, from which they again poured a deadly fire, and again the British 
fell back. At every charge the British artillery fell into the hands of the 
Americans, who could neither carry it off or turn it on the enemy. At 
length night came on, and to fight longer would be to attack indiscrimi- 
nately friend and foe. The Americans retired to their camp, having lost 
between three and four hundred men. The loss of the British was five 
hundred. Both sides claimed the victory; but the advantage was clearly on 
the side of the Americans. 

Skirmishes, frequent and animated, occurred between this and the 7th 
of October, when a general battle was fought at Saratoga. At this time 
the right wing of General Gates occupied the brow of the hill near the 
river, his camp being in the form of the segment of a large circle, the 
convex side towards the enemy. 

The Americans, under General Poor, attacked the left flank and front 
of the British; and, at the same time. Colonel Morgan assailed their right. 
The action became general. The eflbrts of the combatants were desperate. 
Burgoyne and his officers fought like men who were defending at the last 







n^"' 



EXPLOIT OF BENEDICT ARNOLD AT THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA. 



196 



THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY. 197 

cast their military reputation; Gates and his army, like those who were 
deciding whether themselves and their children should be freemen or slaves. 
The invading army gave way in the short space of fifty-two minutes. The 
defenders of the soil pursued them to their entrenchments, forced the guard, 
and killed Colonel Breymann, its commander. Arnold, the tiger of the 
American army, whose track was marked by carnage, headed a small band, 
stormed their works, and followed them into their camp. But his horse was 
killed under him, he was himself wounded, and darkness was coming on. 
He retired ; thus reserving to another day the ruin of the British army. 

Surrender of General Burgoyne. 

Burgoyne now made efforts in various directions to effect a retreat; but 
in every way he had been anticipated. He found himself in a foreign and 
hostile country, hemmed in by a foe whose army, constantly increasing,, 
already amounted to four times his own wasting numbers. His boats, laden 
with his supplies, were taken, and his provisions were failing. He had 
early communicated with Sir Henry Clinton at New York, and had urged 
his co-operation. More recently, when his fortune began to darken, he had 
entreated him for speedy aid, stating that, at the farthest, his army could 
not hold out beyond the 12th of October. The 12th arrived without the 
expected succor. His army was in the utmost distress, and Burgoyne 
capitulated on the 17th. 

The whole number surrendered amounted to 5752 men, which, together 
with the troops lost before, by various disasters, made up the whole Brit- 
ish loss to 9213. There also fell into the hands of the Americans thirty- 
five brass field pieces and 5000 muskets. 

The British, having been driven out of New Jersey, formed the plan 
of taking possession of Philadelphia by an approach by way of Chesapeake 
Bay. In August Sir William Howe sailed from New York with 16,000 
men, and on the 24th reached the head of Blk River, in Maryland, from 
which point his army marched in two columns upon Philadelphia. On the 
11th of September the American army on the Brandy wine was defeated 
with considerable loss. Lafayette was among the severely wounded. Wash- 
ington entered Philadelphia the following day. On the 19th his army 
crossed the Schuylkill and posted themselves on the eastern bank of the 
river. Detachments were placed at the several fords where the enemy 
were likely to cross. 




ATTACK ON CHEW'S HOUSE AT THE BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN. 



198 



THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY. 



199 



■%%., 



General Anthony Wayne, with 1500 men, was concealed in the woods. 
His purpose was to assail the rear of the invading army, but his presence 
was revealed to the British, who on the night of the 20th attacked him and 
killed about 300 men. This event is known as the Paoli massacre. 

Having secured the command of the Schuylkill, Howe crossed with 
his whole army. He advanced to Germantown, and on the 27th took 
peaceable possession of Philadelphia. The American army, re-enforced to 
11,000 men, established some eighteen miles from Germantown. 

Washington having learned that Howe had withdrawn a part of his 
force from Germantown, resolved to surprise the remainder. A night march 
brought the American army to 



Germantown at sunrise on the 
morning of the 4 th of October. 
A heavy fog hung over the coun- 
try and prevented the command- 
er-in-chief from seeing either the 
position of the enemy or that of 
his own troops. 

The British were taken by 
surprise and were driven in dis- 
order. The victory seemed with- ' 
in the grasp of Washington, when 
the Americans abandoned the pur- - 
suit to attack a stone house, known __ 
as " Chew's House," in which a 
number of the enemy had taken 
refuge. While thus engaged they general anthony wayne. 

were seized with an unaccountable panic, which threw them into confusion. 
The British rallied, and, assailing the Americans in their turn, drove them 
from the field with a loss of one thousand men. Washington was greatly 
mortified by this failure. He wrote to Congress : " Every account confirms 
the opinion I at first entertained, that our troops retreated at the instant 
when victory had declared itself in our favor." 

A few days after the battle, the royal army removed from Germantown 
to Philadelphia. Scarcity of provisions prevented Howe from following the 
Americans, and he wished to co-operate in the design of opening the nav- 
igation of the Delaware. Indeed, this measure became necessary to the 




-5^ 



200 THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY. 

preservation of liis army, which could not draw subsistence from the adjacent 
country; so effectually did the menacing attitude of Washington's army 
operate, and also the edict of Congress, which pronounced the penalty of 
death upon any citizen who should dare to afford him supplies. Thus 
situated, the British general found, as Dr. Franklin wittily remarked, that, 
" instead of taking Philadelphia, Philadelphia had taken him." Lord Howe 
finally opened the navigation of the Delaware, so that he could communi- 
cate with his brother, the admiral. 

Sufferings of Our Army at Valley Forge. 

Washington, on the 11th of December, retired to Valley Forge, on the 
Schuylkill, twenty miles above Philadelphia. Here, in a wood on a high 
ground, he laid out his camp, and employed his army in building huts for 
winter-quarters. This work was not completed, when the magazines were 
found to contain scarcely a single day's provision. As to their clothing, 
some few of the soldiers had one shirt, some the remnant of one, the 
greater part none at all. Barefooted, on the frozen ground, their feet cut 
by ice, they left their tracks in blood. A few only had the luxury of a 
blanket at night. Cold and naked, more than 3,000 were excused from duty. 

Straw could not be obtained; and the soldiers, who, during the day, 
were benumbed with cold, and enfeebled by hunger, had at night no other 
bed than the humid ground. Diseases attacked them, and the hospitals 
were replenished as rapidly as the dead were carried out. The unsuitable- 
ness of the buildings, and the multitude of sick that crowded them, caused 
an insupportable fetor. Hospital fever ensued. It could not be remedied 
by change of linen, for none could be had ; nor by salubrious diet, as even 
the coarsest was not attainable ; nor by medicines, as even the worst were 
wholly wanting. The hospitals resembled more receptacles for the dying 
than places of refuge for the diseased. 

The patience with which these patriotic votaries of freedom endured 
such complicated evils, is, we believe, without a parallel in history. To go 
to battle, cheered by the trumpet and the drum, with victory or the speedy 
bed of honor before the soldier, requires a heroic effort; much more to 
starve, to freeze, and to lie down and die, in silent obscurity. Sparta knew 
the names of the individuals who fell in her cause at the pass of Ther- 
mopylse ; but America scarcely knows how many hundreds perished for her 
in the camp at Valley Forge. 




CHAPTER XXII. 

BATTLES AND SIEGES. 

I BOUT the 5tli of June, 1778, the British took measures to evacuate 
Philadelphia. This they accomplished on the morning of the 
18th, their army proceeding through New Jersey towards New 
York. Washington immediately put his camp, at Valley Forge, 
in motion, and sent out a detachment to collect the New Jersey 
militia, in order to harass their rear. He thought it would be wise to bring 
the British to a general engagement ; but this opinion was contrary to that 
of the majority of his officers. 

He, however, persisted, and, following with his whole army, an engage- 
ment was brought about at Monmouth, or Freehold, on the 28th, in which 
the Americans had the advantage. The loss of the English was 700, that 
of the Americans much less. Though both sides claimed the victor}^, yet 
historians agree in awarding it to the Americans, as they remained masters 
of the field of battle. 

A French fleet, consisting of twelve ships of the line, and six frigates, 
was now sent to the aid of America, commanded by the Count d'Hstaing. 
The admiral left Toulon on the 18th of April, with the intention of block- 
ading the British in the Delaware. He entered the mouth of the river, on 
the 8th of June ; but, finding that Admiral Howe had left Philadelphia for 
New York, he proceeded to that place, designing to engage him there ; but 
the large size of his ships prevented. 

In place of the combined attack upon New York, it was resolved by 
Washington, in concert with the French admiral, to attack Newport, and 
drive the British out of Rhode Island. The British had established one of 
their principal depots of supplies at this point, and had there a force of 
6,000 men, under General Pigot. It was arranged that a force of American 
troops, under General Sullivan, should attack the enemy by land, while the 
French fleet and army should co-operate with Sullivan from the sea. On 
the 29th of July, d'Hstaing reached Narragansett Bay with his fleet, and 
on the 8th of August entered Newport harbor, in spite of the fire of the 

201 



202 



BATTLES AND SIEGES. 



Britisli batteries. A whole week had been lost, however, by the failure of 
the American troops to reach the positions assigned them as prompt as 
the French fleet. The delay was unavoidable, but it ruined the enterprise. 
The inhabitants of Wyoming valley, a beautiful region on the Sus- 
quehanna, had driven away the Tories from that region, and these had 
resolved upon revenge. The Tories were called such on account of their 
sympathy with England. Early in July a force of about eleven hundred 
Tories and Indians, under Colonel John Butler and the Indian chief Brandt, 
entered the Wyoming valley, in Pennsylvania. Nearly all the able-bodied 
settlers were absent with the American army, and upon hearing of the 
approach of the enemy a small force had been dispatched by Washington 
under Colonel Zebulon Butler, to the assistance of the settlers. 





OBVERSE. 



SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES. 



REVERSE. 



This force was defeated by the Tories and Indians, who then pro- 
ceeded to lay waste the valley and murder the inhabitants. They per- 
formed their bloody work in the most barbarous manner, and the beautiful 
valley was made a desolation. In the following month Cherry Valley, in 
New York, was ravaged with equal cruelty by a force of Tories and Indians, 
and the inhabitants were either murdered or carried into captivity. The 
entire region of the upper Susquehanna and Delaware and the valley of 
the Mohawk were at the mercy of the savage allies of Great Britain. 

The American forces in the Southern States were commanded by Gen- 
eral Benjamin Lincoln. The Tories were very numerous and very active 
in this region, and the feeling between them and the patriots was one of 
the bitterest hostility, and often manifested itself in bloody and relentless 
conflicts. Seven hundred Tories under Colonel Boyd set out in February, 



BATTLES AND SIEGES. 203 

1779, to join Colonel Campbell, at Augusta. On the 14tli they were at- 
tacked at Kettle Creek by a force of patriots under Colonel Pickens, and 
were defeated with heavy loss. Pickens hung five of his prisoners as traitors. 

General Lincoln now sent General Ashe with two thousand men to 
drive the British out of Augusta. Upon hearing of his approach Colonel 
Campbell evacuated Augusta and fell back to Briar Creek, a small stream 
about halfway to Savannah. Ashe followed him, but without observing 
proper caution, and on the 3d of March was surprised and routed by 
Campbell, with the loss of nearly his entire force. This defeat encouraged 
General Prevost to attempt the capture of Charleston. 

He marched rapidly across the country to Charleston, and demanded 
its surrender. Lincoln, who had been reinforced, no sooner heard of this 
movement than he hastened by forced marches to the relief of Charleston, 
and compelled Prevost to retire to St. John's Island, opposite the mainland. 
The British threw up a redoubt at Stone ferry to protect the crossing to 
this island. It was attacked on the 20th of June by the forces of General 
Lincoln, who were repulsed with heavy loss. A little later Prevost with- 
drew to Savannah. The intense heat of the weather suspended military 
operations in the south during the remainder of the summer. 

Savannah Besieged by the American Army. 

In September, 1779, the French fleet under Count D'Hstaing arrived 
off the coast of Georgia from the West Indies, and the admiral agreed to 
join Lincoln in an effort to recapture Savannah, which had been taken by 
the British earlier in the year. The American army began its investment 
of the city on the 23d of September, and everything promised favorably for 
success ; but D'Bstaing became impatient of the delay of a regular siege, 
and declared that he must return to the West Indies to watch the British 
fleet, in those waters. Savannah must either be taken by assault, or he 
would withdraw from the siege. 

To please him, Lincoln consented to storm the British works, and the 
assault was made on the 9th of October, but was repulsed with severe loss. 
D'Estaing himself was wounded, and the chivalrous Count Pulaski was 
killed. Lincoln now retreated to Charleston, and the French fleet sailed to 
the West Indies, having a second time failed to render any real assistance 
to the Americans. This disaster closed the campaign for the year 
in the south, 







DEATH OF COUNT PULASKI AT THE BATTLE OF SAVANNAH. 



204 



BATTLES AND SIEGES. 205 

In tlie meantime Sir Henry Clinton had been ordered by his govern- 
ment to harass the American coast, and in accordance with these instruc- 
tions, dispatched a number of plundering expeditions from New York against 
exposed points. One of these was sent in May, under General Mathews, 
into the Chesapeake. Mathews entered the Elizabeth River, plundered the 
towns of Norfolk and Portsmouth, and burned one hundred and thirty 
merchant vessels and several ships of war on the stocks at Gosport, near 
Portsmouth. He then ascended the James for some distance and ravaged 
its shores. He destroyed in this expedition two millions of dollars' worth 
of property, and carried off about three thousand hogsheads of tobacco. 

Towns Plundered and Burned by the British. 

Upon the return of this expedition, Clinton ascended the Hudson for 
the purpose of destroying two forts which the Americans were constructing 
a short distance below West Point, for the protection of King's Ferr}^, an 
important crossing-place between the Eastern and Middle States. One of 
these, which was being built at Stony Point, was abandoned. The work on 
Verplanck's Point, on the east side of the Hudson, immediately opposite, 
was compelled to surrender early in June. 

Returning to New York, Clinton sent General Try on with twenty-five 
hundred men to plunder the coast of Long Island Sound. He plundered 
New Haven, burned Fairfield and Norwalk, and committed other outrages 
at Sag Harbor, on Long Island. In the course of a few days this inhuman 
wretch burned two hundred and fifty dwelling-houses, five churches, and one 
hundred and twenty-five barns and stores. Many of the inhabitants were 
cruelly murdered, and a number of women were outraged by the British 
troops. Tr3^on Avould have carried his outrages further had he not been 
recalled to New York by Clinton, who feared that Washington was about 
to attack him. 

The loss of Stony Point was a serious blow to Washington, as it com- 
pelled him to establish a new line of communication between the opposite 
sides of the Hudson by a longer and more tedious route through the 
Highlands. He resolved, therefore, the recapture of the post from the 
British at all hazards. The British had greatly strengthened the fort, 
which the Americans had left unfinished, and the only way in which it 
could be captured was by a surprise. It was a desperate undertaking, and 
Washington proposed to General Anthony AVayne to attempt it. 



206 



BATTLES AND SIEGES. 



Wayne readily consented, and tlie two generals made a careful recon- 
noissance of the position. It was agreed to make the attempt at midnight, 
and in order to guard against a betrayal of the movement every dog in 

the vicinity was put to death. A negro 
who visited the fort regularly to sell fruit, 
and who had been for some time acting 
as a spy for the Americans, agreed to 
guide them to the work. 

At midnight on the 15th of July the 
storming party, guided by the negro, ap- 
proached the fort in two divisions. Not 
a man was permitted to load his musket, 
lest the accidental discharge of a gun 
should ruin the movement. The negro, 
accompanied by two soldiers who were 
disguised as farmers, approached the first 
sentinel and gave the countersign. The 
sentinel was at once seized and gagged, 
and the same was done with the second 
sentinel. The third, however, gave the 
alarm, and the garrison flew to arms 
and opened a sharp fire upon the Ameri- 
cans. The latter now dashed forward at 
a run, scaled the parapet, and in a few 
moments the two opposite divisions met 
in the centre of the fort. 

The Americans took more than five 
hundred prisoners and all the supplies 
and artillery of the fort fell into their 
hands. Though they were justly ex- 
asperated by the brutal outrages of the 
British, which we have related, they con- 
ducted themselves towards their prisoners with a noble humanity. 

The privateers were unusually active, and were hunted with unremit- 
ting vigilance by the English war vessels. They managed to inflict great 
loss upon the commerce of Great Britain, however. A number of Ameri- 
can cruisers were fitted out in France, and kept the English coast in terror. 




AN AMERICAN RIFLEMAN. 



BATTLES AND SIEGES, 



207 



Jolin Paul Jones, a native of Scotland, who had been brought to Vir- 
ginia at an early age, was one of the first naval officers commissioned by 
Congress. He was given command of the " Ranger," a vessel of eighteen 
guns, and by his brilliant and daring exploits kept the English coast in 
a state of terror, and even ventured to attack exposed points on the coast 
of Scotland. In 1779 he was given command of a small squadron of three 
ships of war fitted out in France, 
and sailing from Iv'Orient, pro- 
ceeded on a cruise along the 
coast of Great Britain. 

On the 23d of September 
he fell in with a fleet of mer- 
chantmen convoyed by two 
English frigates, and at once 
attacked them. The battle 
began at seven in the evening 
and was continued for three 
hours with great fury. Jones 



lashed his flagship, the " Bon 
Homme Richard," to the Eng- 
lish frigate "Serapis," and the 
two vessels fought muzzle to 
muzzle until the Serapis sur- 
rendered. The other English 
vessel was also captured. The 
battle was one of the most 
desperate in the annals of naval 
warfare, and Jones' flagship was 
so badly injured that it sunk john paul jones. 

in a few hours after the fighting was over to the bottom of the sea. 

Jones was absent from home for about three years, during which time 
his exploits were numerous, and of the most astonishing character. He 
was denounced as a pirate by the English, who became so alarmed by his 
achievements that many people did not feel safe even in London. Some of 
the timid ones looked out on the Thames, half-expecting to see the terrible 
fellow lay their city under tribute. At one time he landed on the coast of 
Scotland, and, appearing at the residence of the Earl of Selkirk, captured 




208 



BATTLES AND SIEGES. 



I 



a large amount of silver plate and booty. But he treated tlie earl's house- 
hold with great courtesy, and the plate that was seized at the time is now 
in the possession of the members of the Selkirk family. 

Paul Jones returned to Philadelphia February 18, 1781, and received 

a hearty welcome. Congress gave him 
an appropriate medal, and a vote of 
thanks. 

While these events had been trans- 
piring upon the Atlantic seaboard, the 
United States had been steadily pushing 
their way westward beyond the mountains. 
In 1769, before the commencement of the 
Revolution, the beautiful region now known 
as Kentucky had been visited and explored 
by Daniel Boone, a famous Indian hunter. 
He was charmed with the beauty of the 
country, and the excellence of the climate, 
and resolved to make it his home. The 
reports of Boone and his companions 
aroused a great interest in the new coun- 
try among the inhabitants of the older 
settlements in Virginia and North Caro- 
lina, more especially as it was in this 
region that the lands given to the Virginia 
troops, for their services in the French 
war, were located. Surveyors were soon 
after sent out to lay off these lands, and, 
in 1773, a party under Captain BuUit 
MEDAL STRUCK IN HONOR OF PAUL reached the falls of the Ohio, and built a 
JONES. fortified camp, for their protection while 

engaged in their work of surveying the region. 

This was the commencement of the city of Louisville, but the actual 
settlement of the place was not begun until 1778. In 1774 Harrodsburg 
was founded by James Harrod, one of Boone's companions ; and, in 1775, 
Daniel Boone built a fort on the site of the present town of Boonesborough. ' 
The savages made repeated attacks upon his party, but failed to drive 
them away. The fort was finished by the middle of April, and soon 




BATTLES AND SIEGES. 



209 



after Boone was joined 
by his wife and daugh- 
ters, the first white 
women in Kentucky. 

About the last of 
December, 1779, Sir 
Henry Clinton, leav- 
ing a strong garrison 
under General Knyp- 
hausen to hold New 
York, sailed South, 
with the greater part 
of his army, in the 
fleet of Admiral Ar- 
buthnot. He proceeded 
first to Savannah, and 
then moved north- 
ward, for the purpose 
of besieging Charles- 
ton. General Lincoln 
exerted himself with 
energy to fortify that 
city. Four thousand 
citizens enrolled them- 
selves to assist the 
regular garrison in the 
defence, but only two 
hundred militia from 
the interior responded 
to Lincoln's call for aid. 
Reinforcements 
received from Virginia 
and North Carolina, 
and Lincoln was able daniel boone. 

to muster seven thousand men, of whom but two thousand were regular troops. 

In February, 1 780, the British landed at St. John's Island, about thirty 
miles below Charleston. Clinton advanced towards the city along the 

14 



were ^ 




210 BATTLES AND SIEGES. 

banks of the Ashley, while the fleet sailed around to force an entrance 
into the harbor. The advance of Clinton was very gradual, and Lincoln 
was enabled to strengthen his works, and prepare for a siege. It was not 
until early in April that Clinton's army appeared before the American 
works, and began preparations to reduce them. A day or two later, the 
British fleet passed Fort Moultrie, with but little loss, and took position 
off the city. 

Charleston was now completely invested, and the siege was pressed 
with vigor by Clinton. Lincoln's situation became every day more hope- 
less. The fire of the British artillery destroyed his defences and dismounted 
his cannon, and, as he was entirely cut off" from the country, he had no 
hope of relief from without. On the 9th day of May a terrific fire was 
opened upon the defences and the city of Charleston. The city was set on 
fire in five places, and the American works were reduced to a mass of ruins. 

Marion and Sumter Continue the Fight. 

On the 12th Lincoln surrendered the town and his army to Sir Henry 
Clinton. The prisoners, including every male adult in the city, numbered 
about six thousand men. The regulars were held as prisoners of war, but 
the militia were dismissed to their homes, on their promise not to serve 
again during the war. 

The only resistance kept up by the Americans was maintained by the 
partisan corps of patriots led by Marion, Sumter, and Pickens. The exploits 
of these daring bands caused the British commander to feel that he could 
not hold the Carolinas except by the aid of a strong force, and kept 
him in a state of constant uneasiness. On the IGth of August Sumter 
defeated a large body of British and Tories at Hanging Rock, east of the 
Wateree River. Large numbers of negroes deserted their masters and fled 
to the British. 

The fighting of Marion and his men was much like that of the wild 
Apaches of the southwest. When hotly pursued by the enemy his command 
would break up into small parties, and these, as they were hard pressed, 
would subdivide, until nearly every patriot was fleeing alone. There could 
be no successful pursuit, therefore, since the subdivision of the pursuing 
party weakened it too much. 

" We will give fifty pounds to get within reach of the scamp that 
galloped by here, just ahead of us," exclaimed a lieutenant of Tarleton's 



BATTLES AND SIEGES. 



211 



cavalry, as he and three other troopers drew up before a farmer, who was 
hoeing intha field by the roadside. 

The farmer looked up, ' 

leaning on his hoe, took 
off his old hat, and mop- 
ping his forehead with his 
haudkerchief. 










%mm-r'i 



tarleton's lieutenant and the farmer. 
looked at the angry soldiers, and in a somewhat nonchalant manner said 



212 BATTLE^ AND SIEGES. 

"Fifty pounds is a big lot of money." In our money it is two liundred 
dollars. 

"So it is in these times, but we will give it to you in gold, if you'll 
show us where we can get a chance at that rebel; did you see anything 
of him?" 

"He was all alone, wasn't he? And he was mounted on a black horse 
with a white star in his forehead, and he was going like a streak of light- 
ning, wasn't he?" 

"That's the fellow!" exclaimed the questioners, hoping they were about 
to get the knowledge they wanted^ 

"It looked to me like Jack Davis, though he went by so fast that I 
couldn't get a square look at his face, but he was one of Marion's men, 
and if I ain't greatly mistaken it was Jack Davis himself." 

He Escaped on His Swift Horse. 

Then looking up at the four British horsemen, the farmer added, with 
a quizzical expression : 

"I reckon that ere Jack Davis has hit you chaps pretty hard this time, 
ain't he?" 

"Never mind about that^'' replied the lieutenant; "what we want to 
know is where we can get a chance at him for just about five minutes. 
He has been in our camp, robbing and stealing like a pirate ; two men 
grabbed him, but he knocked down one, killed the other, ran to his horse, 
and away he went. He had his animal in the woods close by, but it was 
such a poor looking brute that we felt sure of catching him. But we've 
ridden hard for two hours and are further off than when we started. His 
horse seemed to be tired, and I've an idea that he may be hiding some- 
where around here." 

The farmer put his cotton handkerchief into his hat, which he now 
slowly replaced, and shook his head : 

"I don't think he's hiding round here," he said; "when he shot by 
Jack was going so fast that it didn't look as if he could stop under four 
or five miles. Strangers, I'd like powerful well to earn that fifty pounds, 
but I don't think you'll get a chance to squander it on me." 

After some further questioning, the lieutenant and his men wheeled 
their horses and trotted back toward the main bod}^ of Tarleton's cavalry. 
The farmer plied his hoe for several minutes, gradually working his way 



BATTLES AND SIEGES. 213 

towards the stretch of woods some fifty yards from the roadside. Reaching 
the margin of the field, he stepped in among the trees, hastily took off his 
clothing, tied it up in a bundle, shoved it under a flat rock from beneath 
which he drew a suit no better in quality, but showing a faint semblance 
to a uniform. Putting it on and then plunging still deeper into the woods, 
he soon reached a dimly-marked track, which he followed only a short 
distance, when a gentle whinney fell upon his ear. 

The next moment he vaulted on the back of a bony but blooded horse, 
marked by a beautiful star in his forehead. The satin skin of the steed 
shone as though he had been traveling hard, and his rider allowed him to 
walk along the path for a couple of miles, when he entered an open space 
where, near a spring, Francis Marion and fully two hundred men were 
encamped. They were eating, smoking and chatting as though no such a 
horror as war was known. 

You understand, of course, that the farmer that leaned on his hoe by 
the roadside and talked to Tarleton's lieutenant about Jack Davis and his 
exploits was Jack Davis himself. 

Infamous Plot of Benedict Arnold. 

About this time a plot was discovered which involved the fair fame of 
one of the most brilliant officers of the American army. General Benedict 
Arnold had been disabled by the wounds he had received at Quebec and 
Saratoga from undertaking active service, and through the influence of 
Washington had been placed in command of Philadelphia after its evacua- 
tion by Clinton in 1778. There he lived in a style far beyond his means, 
and became involved in debts, which he was unable to pay. To raise the 
funds to discharge them he engaged in privateering and mercantile specu- 
lations. These were generally unsuccessful, and merely increased his 
difficulties. His haughty and overbearing manner involved him in a quarrel 
with the authorities of Pennsylvania, who accused him before Congress of 
abusing his official position and misusing the public funds. 

He was tried by a court-martial and was sentenced to be reprimanded 
by the commander-in-chief. Washington performed this disagreeable task 
as delicately as possible, but did not lose his confidence in Arnold. He 
knew him as an able officer, but, as his acquaintance wdth him was limited, 
was most likely ignorant of the faults of Arnold's character, which were 
well known to the members of Congress from Connecticut, who had no 



214 



BATTLES AND SIEGES. 



confidence in him. To them he was known to be naturally dishonest, 
regardless of the rights of others, and cruel and tyrannical in his dealings 
with those under his authority. Arnold never forgave the disgrace in- 
flicted upon him by the sentence of the court-martial, and cherished the 

determination to be revenged 
upon Washington for the rep- 
rimand received from him. 

While in Philadelphia, 
Arnold had married a mem- 
ber of a Tory family, and was 
thus enabled to communicate 
readily with the British of- 
ficers. He opened a corres- 
pondence with Sir Henry Clin- 
ton, signing himself Gustavus. 
He kept up this correspond- 
ence for several months, and 
then made himself known to 
the British commander. In 
the meantime, at his earnest 
solicitation, he was appointed 
by Washington, in August, 
1780, to the command of West 
BENEDICT ARNOLD. Poiut, the strougcst and most 

important fortress in America. He did this with the deliberate intention 
of betraying the post into the hands of the enemy. 

The correspondence had been conducted on the part of Sir Henry 
Clinton by Major John Andre of the British army, a young man of ami- 
able character and more than ordinary accomplishments. He wrote under 
the assumed name of John Anderson. He was an especial favorite of Sir 
Henry Clinton, and was beloved by the whole army in which he served. 
Soon after the appointment of Arnold to the command of West Point, Andre 
volunteered to go up the Hudson and have an interview with him for the 
purpose of completing the arrangements for the betrayal of that fortress. 
His offer was accepted by Clinton, and he ascended the Hudson as 
far as Haverstraw in the sloop of war " Vulture." He was set ashore and 
was met near Haverstraw on the west bank of the Hudson by General 




BATTLES AND SIEGES. 



215 



Arnold, on the 22d of September. The meeting took place about dark, 
and the night had passed before the arrangements were completed. Much 
against his will, Andre was compelled to pass the next day within the 
American lines. During the 23d the '"Vulture," having attracted the at- 
tention of the Americans, was fired upon and forced to drop down the 
river. Andre found the man who had set him ashore unwilling to row 
him back to the sloop, and he was compelled to return to New York by 
land. He changed his uniform for a citizen's dress, and, provided with a 
pass from Arnold, under the 
name of John Anderson, set 
out for New York along the 
east bank of the river, which 
he deemed safer than the 
opposite shore. 

All went well until Andre 
reached the vicinity of Tar- 
ry town. He was stopped there 
by three young men, John 
Paulding, David Williams, 
and Isaac Van Wart. They 
asked him his name and 
destination, and he, suppos- 
ing them to be Tories, did 
not use the pass given him 
by Arnold, but frankly avowed 
himself a British of&cer travel- 
ing on important business. 
To his great dismay he then 
learned that his captors were major andre. 

of the patriotic party, and he offered them his watch, purse, and any re- 
ward they might name, if they would suffer him to proceed. They refused 
to allow him to stir a step, and searched his person. They found con- 
cealed in his boots papers giving the plan of West Point, and an account 
of its garrison. 

Andre was taken by his captors before Colonel Jamison, the com- 
mander of the nearest American post. Jamison recognized the handwriting 
as that of Arnold, but, unwilling to believe that his commander could be 




216 



BATTLES AND SIEGES. 



guilty of treason, he detained the prisoner, and wrote to Arnold, informing 

him of the arrest of Andre, and of -■ ~ -. 

the papers found upon his person. ' ^ 

The papers themselves he forwarded ' 

by a special messenger to Washing- 



'ton. 



Hartford 



was 



return 




- ESCAPE OF BENEDICT ARNOLD, 

Arnold received Colonel Jam- 
' ison's letter, as he sat at breakfast 
"with some of his officers. He concealed his emotion, and, excusing himself to 
his guests, called his wife from the room, told her he must flee for his 
life, and hastening to his barge, escaped down the river to the "Vulture," 



BATTLES AND SIEGES. 217 

and was received on board by the commander of that vessel. From his 
place of safety, he wrote to Washington, asking him to protect his wife, 
who, he declared, was innocent of any share in his plot. 

When he learned that Arnold was safe, Andre wrote to Washington 
and confessed the whole plot. He was at once brought to trial upon the 
charge of being within the American lines as a spy. The court-martial 
was presided over by General Greene, and Lafayette and Steuben were 
among its members. Andre asserted that he had been induced to enter 
the American lines by the misrepresentations of Arnold. 

Sentenced to be Hanged. 

He denied that he was a spy, and, though cautioned not to say any- 
thing that might criminate himself, he frankly confessed the whole plot. 
He was sentenced, upon his own confession, to be hanged. Clinton made 
great exertions to save him, and Washington, whose sympathy was won 
by the amiable character of Andre, was anxious to spare him. The cir- 
cumstances of the case demanded that the law should be executed, and 
Andre was hanged at Tappan, near the Hudson, on the 2d of October, 
1780. Congress voted to each of his three captors a pension of two hun- 
dred dollars for life, and a silver medal. 

The plot of Arnold had been discovered by the merest chance, and 
the American cause had narrowly escaped a crushing disaster. The loss of 
West Point would have given the British the entire control of the Hudson, 
and have enabled them to separate New England from the Middle and 
Southern States. It might have proved fatal to the cause, and certainly 
would have reduced Washington to great extremities. Arnold received for 
his treachery the sum of ten thousand pounds sterling, and a commission 
as brigadier-general in the English service. He was regarded with general 
contempt by the English officers, who refused to associate with him, and 
were greatly averse to serving under him. 




CHAPTER XXIII. 

CLOSE OF THE WAR. 

)HE American army passed the winter of 1780-81 in cantonments 
east and west of the Hudson. The Pennsylvania troops were 
stationed near Morristown, and the New Jersey regiments at 
Pompton. Though the troops were better provided with food 
than during the previous winter their sufferings were still very 
severe. They were neglected by Congress, which was too much occupied 
with its dissensions to make any serious effort to relieve the wants 
of the soldiers. 

On the 1st of January, 1781, thirteen hundred Pennsylvania troops left 
the camp at Morristown under arms and set off for Philadelphia to obtain 
redress from Congress. General Wayne, their commander, placed himself 
in front of them, and, pistol in hand, attempted to stop their march. In 
an instant their bayonets were at his breast. " We love, we respect you," 
they exclaimed, "but you are a dead man if you fire. Do not mistake us; 
we are not going to the enemy; were they now to come out you would see 
us fight under your orders with as much resolution and alacrity as ever." 
They halted at Princeton, where they were met by the agents of Sir Henry 
Clinton, who endeavored to induce them to join the British service. They 
promptly seized these men and delivered them up to General Wayne as 
spies. At a later period it was proposed to reward them for this action, 
but they refused to accept anything, saying: "We ask no reward fordoing 
our duty to our country." 

Congress was greatly alarmed by the approach of these troops, and a 
committee, accompanied by Read, the president, of Pennsylvania, was sent to 
meet them. The committee met the leaders of the mutineers and agreed 
to relieve their immediate wants and to secure them their back pay by 
means of certificates. Permission was given to all who had served three 
years to withdraw from the army. Upon these conditions the troops 
returned to duty. 

Washington was very anxious to attempt something decisive with his 

218 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 



219 



own army, if he could secure the aid of a French army and fleet. Two 
enterprises offered themselves to him — an attack upon New York, which 
had been greatly weakened by detachments sent from its garrison to the 
south, and an expedition against Cornwallis. That commander had left 
Wilmington on the 20th of April, and had advanced without encountering 
any serious resistance, 
to Petersburg, Virginia. 
He arrived there on the 
20th of May, and was 
joined by the troops 
under General Philips, 
who had been plunder- 
ing the country along 
the James River. 

While Washington 
was hesitating which 
would be the best course 
to pursue, a French 
frigate arrived at New- 
port, with the Count de 
Barras on board, who 
had come to take com- 
mand of the fleet at 
Newport. He brought 
the good news that a 
fleet of twenty ships-of- 
the-line, under the 
Count de Grasse, hav- 
ing on board a consid- 
erable force of troops, 
had sailed for America, i-oRD cornwallis. 

and might be expected to arrive in the course of a few months. Washing- 
ton held a conference with the Count de Rochambeau, at Weathersiield, 
Connecticut, and it was resolved to attack New York. The French army 
was to march from Newport and form a junction with the Americans on 
the Hudson. A frigate was dispatched to the West Indies to inform the 
Count de Grasse of this arrangement, and to ask his co-operation. 




220 CLOSE OF THE WAR. 

Sir Henry Clinton, who suspected the designs of Washington, now- 
ordered Lord Cornwallis, who had crossed the James River, and was at 
Williamsburg, to send him a reinforcement of troops. Cornwallis prepared 
to comply with this order, and for that purpose marched towards Ports- 
mouth, followed cautiously by Lafayette and Steuben, who had with them 
about four thousand American troops. On the march a slight engagement 
occurred, near Westover, between Lafayette and Cornwallis, in which the 
Americans narrowly escaped a defeat. 

Yorktcwn Fortified by Corn-wallis. 

The British army crossed to the south side of the James, and a de- 
tachment was embarked for New York. At this moment a second order 
was received from Sir Henry Clinton, who had received a reinforcement of 
Hessians from England, directing Cornwallis to retain all his force, choose 
some central position in Virginia, fortify himself in it, and await the 
development of the American plans. Cornwallis should have taken position 
at Portsmouth, from which place his line of retreat to the South would 
have remained intact. In an evil hour for himself he recrossed the James, 
and crossing the peninsula between that river and the York, took position 
at the towns of Gloucester and Yorktown, opposite each other on the York 
River. He had with him an army of eight thousand effective troops, and 
proceeded to fortify his position with strong intrenchments. A number of 
vessels of war were anchored between Yorktown and Gloucester to main- 
tain the communication between those points and to assist in the defence 
of the place. 

During all this time the financial affairs of the republic were growing 
worse and more hopeless. The continental currency had become utterly 
worthless — one dollar in paper being worth only one cent in coin at the 
opening of the year 1781. In the spring of that year Congress sought to 
put an end to its financial troubles by taking the control of the finances 
from a board which had hitherto managed them, and intrusting them 
to Robert Morris. 

In July Washington was joined in the Highlands by the French army 
under Count de Rochambeau, and preparations were made to attack New 
York. An intercepted letter informed Sir Henry Clinton of this design, 
and he exerted himself to put the city in a state of defence. In the midst 
of his preparations Washington received a letter from the Count de Grasse, 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 



221 



stating that lie would sail for the Chesapeake instead of Newport. This 
decision of the French admiral compelled an entire change of plan on the 
part of the Americans. As De Grasse would not co-operate with them 
they must abandon the attack upon New York, and attempt the capture of 
Cornwallis at Yorktown. No time was to be lost in making the attempt, 
for it was now the month of August. By a series of skilful movements 
Sir Henry Clinton was induced to believe that an attack upon New York 




CONTINENTAL BILLS. 

would soon be made, and at the same time the American army was marched 
rapidly across New Jersey, followed by the French. Lafayette, who was in 
Virginia, was ordered to prevent at all hazards a retreat of Cornwallis' 
army to North Carolina, and was directed to ask assistance of General 
Greene if necessary. 

The plan of Washington was to blockade Cornwallis in the York 
River by means of the French fleet, and at the same time to besiege him 
in Yorktown with the army. The troops were somewhat unwilling to 
undertake a southern campaign in August, but their good humor was 
restored at Philadelphia, where they received a part of their pay in specie, 
and a supply of clothing, arms and ammunition, which had just arrived 
from France. From Philadelphia the combined armies proceeded to Klkton, 
at head of the Chesapeake, where they found transports, sent by the French 
admiral and by Lafayette, to convey them to the James River. 

The first intimation Sir Henry Clinton had of a change in the Ameri- 



222 CLOSE OF THE WAR, 

can plans was tHe sudden sailing of the FrencH fleet from Newport on the 
28th of August. Supposing that De Barras's object was to unite with 
another fleet in the Chesapeake, Clinton sent Admiral Graves to prevent 
the junction. Upon reaching the capes the British admiral was astonished 
to find the fleet of the Count de Grasse, consisting of twenty ships-of-the- 
line, anchored within the bay. De Grasse at once put to sea as if to 
engage the enemy, but in reality to draw them off and allow De Barras to 
enter the Chesapeake. For five days he amused the English by constant 
skirmishing. De Barras at length appeared and passed within the capes, 
and De Grasse at once followed him. Admiral Graves was unwilling to 
attack this combined force and returned to New York. 

Arnold's Depredations in New England. 

The movement of the American army to the south was known to 
Clinton, but he supposed it was only a manoeuvre to draw him off Man- 
hattan Island into the open country. When the Americans were beyond 
the Delaware, and the French fleets had effected their junction in the 
Chesapeake, he recognized his mistake, and saw that the object of Wash- 
ington was the capture of Cornwallis. It was too late to prevent it; but, 
in the hope of compelling Washington to send back a part of his force to 
defend New England, Clinton sent the traitor Arnold, with a large body 
of troops, to attack New London, in Connecticut. On the 6th of September 
Arnold captured that town, and burned the shipping and a large part 
of the town. 

He then took Fort Griswold, on the opposite side of the Thames, by 
storm, and basely massacred Colonel Indyard, the commander, and sixty of 
the garrison, after the surrender of the fort. The militia of the State were 
summoned to take up arms for its defence, and responded in such numbers 
that Arnold became alarmed for his safety, and returned to New York. 
The object of his expedition failed most signally. Washington left New 
England to defend herself, and continued his movement against Cornwallis. 

Cornwallis was very slow to realize his danger. He believed the small 
force under Lafa^^ette the only command opposed to him, and, on the 10th 
of September, wrote to Clinton that he could spare him twelve hundred 
men for the defence of New York. He did not perceive his error until 
the French fleet had anchored in the Chesapeake, and cut off his escape 
by water. He then attempted to retreat to North Carolina, as Washington 



CLOSE Oh THE WAR. 223 

had foreseen, but Lafayette, wlio had been reinforced by three thousand 
French troops, under the Marquis de St. Simon, from the fleet of De Grasse, 
was too active for him, and, finding his retreat impossible, Cornwallis sent 
urgent appeals to Clinton for assistance, and strengthened his fortifications. 
In the meantime the American and French armies descended the Ches- 
apeake, and took position before Yorktown, while the French fleet closed 
the mouth of the York river. The siege was begun on the 28th of Sep- 
tember, Sixteen thousand men were present under Washington's orders. 
Works were erected completely enclosing those of the British, and on the 
9th of October the cannonade was begun. It was continued for four days, 
and the British outworks were greatly damaged, and several of their 
vessels in the river were burned, by means of red-hot shot thrown into 
them by the French vessels. 

The Enemy's Intrenchments Stormed. 

On the 14th, two of the advanced redoubts of the enemy were stormed 
and taken, one by the Americans, the other by the French. From the 
positions thus gained, a very destructive fire was maintained upon the 
English lines, which were broken in many places, while many of their 
guns were dismounted and rendered useless. On the 15th Cornwallis found 
himself almost out of ammunition, and unable to maintain his position but 
for a few days longer. 

In this strait, the British commander resolved upon the desperate 
alternative of crossing the York to Gloucester, abandoning his sick and 
wounded, and baggage, and endeavoring to force his way northward by 
extraordinary marches to New York. It was a hopeless undertaking, but 
Cornwallis resolved to make the trial. On the night of the 16th of October, 
he crossed a part of his army from Yorktown to Gloucester, but a sudden 
storm delayed the passage of the river by the second division until after 
daylight, when it was useless to make the attempt. 

The first division was with dif&culty brought back to Yorktown, as the 
boats were exposed to the fire of the American batteries while crossing the 
river. Nothing was left to Cornwallis now but a capitulation, as his works 
were in no condition to withstand an assault, and simple humanity to his 
men demanded that the contest should cease. He sent to Washington an 
offer to surrender, and the terms were soon arranged. On the 19th of 
October Cornwallis surrendered his army of seven thousand men as pris- 



224 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 



oners of war to Washington, as commander of the allied army, and his 
shipping, seamen and naval stores to the Count de Grasse, as the repre. 
sentative of the king of France. 

Washington dispatched one of his aids to Philadelphia to communicate 
the good news to Congress. The officer pushed forward with all speed, and 
reached Philadelphia at midnight, and delivered his message. Soon the 
peals of the State-house bell roused the citizens, and the watchmen took up 
the cry, " Comwallis is taken! Cornwallis is taken!" The people poured 




SURRENDER OF LORD CORNWALLIS. 

out into the streets in throngs, and no one slept in Philadelphia that night. 
The next day Congress proceeded in a body to a church and gave thanks 
for the great victory. A national thanksgiving was ordered, and throughout 
the whole land rejoicings went up to God for the success which all men 
felt was decisive of the war. 

On the 19th of October, the day of the surrender of Cornwallis, Sir 
Henry Clinton sailed from New York to his assistance with a force of seven 
thousand men. Off the capes he learned of the surrender of the British 
army at Yorktown, and as his fleet was not strong enough to meet that of 
the French, he returned at once to New York. 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 225 

The news of the surrender of Cornwallis was received in England with 
astonishment and mortification. It was the second time England had lost 
an entire army by capture, and her efforts to subdue the United States 
were no nearer success than they had been at the opening of the war. 
The English people had never regarded the attempt to conquer America 
with favor, and they now became more open and energetic in their demands 
for peace. "Lord North, the prime minister," says an English writer, 
"received the intelligence of the capture of Cornwallis as he would have 
done a cannon ball in his breast; he paced the room, and throwing his 
arms wildly about, kept exclaiming, 'O God! it is all over! it is all over!'" 
The king and the aristocracy, however, had no thought of yielding yet to 
the popular pressure, and were resolved to carry on the war. 

Washington's Army again on the Hudson. 

After the surrender at Yorktown, Washington urged the Count de 
Grasse to co-operate with General Greene in an attack upon Charleston. 
The French admiral declined to comply with his request, alleging the 
necessity of his immediate return to the West Indies. The French troops 
were quartered for the winter at Williamsburg, Virginia, and the American 
army returned northward and resumed its old position on the Hudson, 
Washington, though convinced that peace was close at hand, did not relax 
his vigilance, and urged upon Congress the necessity of preparing for a 
vigorous campaign the next year ; but so thoroughly was Congress carried 
away by the prospect of peace that his recommendations were unheeded. 

In the south the British and Tories were so disheartened by the 
surrender of Cornwallis that they ceased active operations and evacuated all 
their posts but Savannah and Charleston. General Greene at once disposed 
his army in such a manner as to confine them closely to Charleston. In 
the Northern States the only place held by the British was New York. 

Some of the staunchest patriots and some of the most ferocious Tories 
resided in Monmouth county. New Jersey. The patriots built a block- 
house of logs at Dover, which was a strongly fortified building. The only 
method of ingress or egress was by the use of a scaling ladder. Captain 
John Huddy was commander of this post, and was one of the bravest men 
who fought for the American cause. His house was once surrounded by 
his foes, but escaping he jumped into the waters of the bay, and 
as he swam he shouted, "I am Huddy!" His escape was remarkable. 

15 



226 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 



On MarcH 20, 1782, a party of forty Tories and eighty seamen, all 
fully armed, left New York in whaleboats for the purpose of capturing 
Captain John Huddy. Their coming was announced by scouts, and prepa- 
rations were made to receive them. The bat- 
tle was one of the fiercest of the war. The . - 
powder in the fortress at length gave out, 
and Huddy, with sixteen men, four of 
whom M^ere seri- 
ously wounded, 
was taken 



prisoner. 
Huddy was 



^'", '// 




a prisoner of 
war, and was entitled to treat- 
ment as such, but his enemies 
conspired to put him to death. He 
was executed on the morning of April 
12, and his last words were, " I shall 
die innocent, and in a good cause." 
Captain Lippincott, who ordered 
Huddy's execution, cursed his men because they were unwilling to take 
the life of so brave a foe, and with his own hand helped to pull the rope. 



ATTACK ON THE BLOCK-HOUSE. 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 227 

Returning to New York he reported to the board of loyalists that he had 
" exchanged " Captain Huddy for Philip White. The pastor of the Presby- 
terian Church at Freehold preached the funeral sermon from the front porch 
of the old Freehold hotel, and the body was buried with the honors of war. 
The desire of the English people for the close of the war had grown 
too strong to be resisted, and the king and his ministers were at length 
forced to yield. The impossibility of conquering America had become so 
apparent to the continental nations that in the spring of 1782 the Dutch 
republic recognized the independence of the United States, and received 
John Adams as envoy from that government. The king of England main- 
tained his obstinate opposition to the wishes of his people to the last 
moment. On the 22d of February, 1782, a resolution was introduced into 
the House of Commons to put an end to the American war and was sup- 
ported by the leaders of the Whig part}'. It was defeated by a majority 
of one, but on the 27th of February a similar resolution was introduced 
and was carried by a majority of nineteen, 

A Cessation of Hostilities Proposed. 

On the 20th of March Lord North and his colleagues were forced to 
relinquish their offices, and a new ministry was formed under the Marquis 
of Rockingham. Sir Henry Clinton was removed from his command in 
America and was succeeded by Sir Guy Carleton, whose humane conduct 
of the war while governor of Canada we have related. Carleton arrived in 
New York in May, 1782, with full powers to open negotiations for peace. 
He at once put a stop to the savage warfare of the Tories and Indians on 
the borders of Western New York, and opened a correspondence with 
Washington proposing a cessation of hostilities until a definite treaty of 
peace could be arranged. 

Five commissioners were appointed by Congress to conclude a peace 
with Great Britain. They were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John 
Jay, Henry Laurens, who had just been released from the tower of London, 
where he had been kept a prisoner for about a year, and Thomas Jefferson. 
Mr. Jefferson was unable to leave America. Five commissioners were 
appointed by Great Britain to treat with " certain colonies " named 
in their instructions. 

The commissioners from the two countries met at Paris, but the Amer- 
ican commissioners refused to open negotiations except in the name of the 



228 CLOSE OF THE WAR. 

" United States of America." This right was acknowledged by Great 

Britain, and, on the 30th of November, 1782, a preliminary treaty was 

signed, which was ratified by Congress in April, 1783. This treaty could 

not be final, because, by the terms of the alliance between the United 

States and France, neither party could make a separate treaty of peace 

with England. In January, 1783, France and Great Britain agreed upon 

terms of peace, and, on the 3d of September, 1783, a final treaty of peace 

was signed by all the nations who had engaged in the war — by the United 

States, France, Spain and Holland on the one side, and Great Britain 

on the other. 

Close of Hostilities Proclaimed. 

In the spring of 1783 the news of the signing of the preliminary treaty 
of peace was received in America, and was of&cially communicated to the 
nation in a proclamation by Congress. On the 19th of April, 1783, just 
eight years from the commencement of the war at Lexington, the close of 
hostilities was proclaimed, in general orders, to the army at Newburg. A 
general exchange of prisoners followed, and large numbers of Tories were 
obliged to leave the country, as they feared to remain after the protection 
of the British forces was withdrawn. They emigrated chiefly to Canada 
Nova Scotia, and the West Indies. 

On the 2d of December, Washington issued a farewell address to the 
army, and, on the 4th of that month, took leave of the officers at New 
York. He then proceeded to Annapolis, where Congress was in session, 
and, on the 23d of December, under circumstances of great solemnity, 
resigned his commission to that body ; and, after receiving the thanks of 
Congress for the able and faithful manner in which he had discharged the 
task intrusted to him, retired to his home at Mount Vernon, which he had 
not visited for eight years, except for a few hours, while on his way to 
attack Cornwallis at Yorktown. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 




THE NEW REPUBLIC. 

)HH Constitution of the United States was adopted and went into 
operation on tlie fourth of March, 1789. Elections were held for 
President and Vice-President of the United States, and for mem- 
bers of Congress. New York was named as the seat of the new 
government. The fourth of March, 1789, was ushered in with 

a public demonstration at New York; but a sufficient number of members 

of Congress to form a quorum for 



the transaction of business did not 
arrive until the thirtieth of March. 
On the sixth of April the electoral 
votes were counted, and it was found 
that George Washington had been 
unanimously chosen first President 
of the United States, and John 
Adams Vice-President. 

Commerce now began to show 
signs of a greai*- revival from the 
stagnation and loss caused by the 
war. The duties levied upon for- 
eign goods gave to domestic manu- 
facturers an opportunity to place 
themselves upon a firmer founda- 
tion. Very great improvements 
were made in the character of 




GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



American manufactures. In New England the weaving of cotton and woolen 
goods was begun, in a feeble way it is true, but the foundation was laid of 
that great industry which has since been a constant and growing source of 
wealth to that section. 

In 1790 the first census of the United States was taken, and showed 
the population to be 3,929,827 souls. 

229 



230 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



The Indians of the northwest had been very troublesome for some time. 
The British agents in that region incited them to hostility against the 
United States, and urged them to claim the Ohio as their southern and 
eastern boundary. They committed innumerable outrages along this river 
and almost put a stop to the trade upon its waters by attacking and plunder- 
ing the flat-boats of the emigrants and traders which were constantly des- 
cending the river. The general government resolved to put a stop to their 
outrages, and General Harmer was sent against them in 1790, but was soon 

defeated with great loss. 

In 1791 General St. Clair, the gover- 
nor of the northwest territory, was placed 
in command of an expedition against the 
savages. He set out from Fort Washing- 
ton, now Cincinnati, about the middle of 
September, with a force of two thousand 
men, but near the headwaters of the Wa- 
bash was surprised and defeated by an In- 
dian force under Little Turtle, a famous 
chief of the Miamis. The wreck of his 
army fled to Fort Washington, and the 
frontier was once more defenceless. 

President Washington now placed Gen. 
Anthony Wayne in command of the forces 
destined to operate against the Indians. 
With his usual energy Wayne assembled 
his army at Fort Washington, and in the 
INDIAN CHILD IN CRADLE. summcr of 1794 marched into the Indian 

country, laid it waste and defeated the Indian tribes in the battle of the 
Maumee, on the twentieth of August. In the summer of 1795 the Indians, 
cowed by their defeat and alarmed by the withdrawal of the British from 
the frontier posts, met General Wayne at his camp on the Miami and en- 
tered into a treaty with the United States, by which they ceded all the 
eastern and southern part of Ohio to the whites and themselves withdrew 
farther westward. 

In the elections of 1792 Washington and Adams were chosen Presi- 
dent and Vice-President of the United States, for a second term of four 
years. The disputes, which had been begun by the adoption of the Consti- 




THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



231 



tution, had been continued during the first term of Washington's presi- 
dency, and had given rise to two political parties — the Federalists, or those 
who favor a strong national government, and who supported the adminis- 
tration; and the Anti-Federalists, who opposed the policy of the administration. 

At the close of his term of ofiice, Washington withdrew to his home 
at Mount Vernon, to enjoy the repose he had so well earned, and which 
was so grateful to him. His administration had been eminently successful. 
When he entered upon the duties of the Presidency, the government was 
new and untried, and its best friends doubted its ability to exist long ; the 
finances were in confusion, and the coun- 
try was burdened with debt ; the dis- 
putes with Great Britain threatened to 
involve the country in a new war ; and 
the authority of the general government 
was uncertain and scarcely recognized. 

When he left office the state of affairs 
was changed. The government had been 
severely tested, and had been found equal 
to any demand made upon it ; the finances 
had been placed upon a safe and healthy 
footing, and the debt of the country had 
been adjusted to the satisfaction of all 
parties concerned in it. The disputes with 
Kngland had been arranged, and the 
country, no longer threatened with war, 
was free to devote its energies to its im- 
provement. Industry and commerce were 
growing rapidly. The exports from the United States had risen from nine- 
teen millions to over fifty-six millions of dollars, and the imports had 
increased in nearly the same proportion. The rule of non-interference in 
European quarrels, and of cultivating friendly relations with all the world, 
had become the settled policy of the republic, and its wisdom had been 
amply vindicated. The progress of the republic, during the eight years 
of Washington's administration, was indeed gratifying, and gave promise 
of a brilliant future. 

On the 4th of March, 1797, John Adams was inaugurated President of 
the United States, and Thomas Jefferson took the oath of office as Vice- 




232 THE NEW REPUBLIC. 

President. Mr. Adams was in the sixty-second year of his age, and in the 
full vigor of health and intellect. He made no changes in the cabinet left 
by President Washington, and the policy of his administration corresponded 
throughout with that of his great predecessor. He came into ofiice at a 
time when this policy was to be subjected to the severest test, and was to 
be triumphantly vindicated by the trial. Mr. Adams began his official 
career with the declaration of his "determination to maintain peace and 
inviolate faith with all nations, and neutrality and impartiality with the 
belligerent powers of Europe." 

The second census of the United States, taken in 1800, showed the 
population of the country to be 5,319,762 souls. 

Author of the Declaration of Independence. 

Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, was inaugu- 
rated at the new capitol, in the city of Washington, on the 4th of March, 
1801. He was in his fifty-eighth year, and had long been regarded as one 
of the most illustrious men in America. He was the author of the Declara- 
tion of Independence, had represented the country as minister to France, 
had served in the cabinet of General Washington as Secretary of State, 
and had filled the high office of Vice-President during the administration 
of Mr. Adams. 

He was the founder of the Democratic party, and was regarded by it 
with an enthusiastic devotion, which could see no flaw in his character. 
By the Federalists he was denounced with intense bitterness as an enemy 
of organized government. He was unquestionably a believer in the largest 
freedom possible to man, but he was too deeply versed in the lessons of 
statesmanship, and was too pure a patriot, to entertain for a moment the 
levelling principles with which his enemies charged him. Under him the 
government of the republic suffered no diminution of strength, but his 
administration was a gain to the country. 

]\Ir. Jefferson had long been anxious to obtain for the United States 
the country bordering the lower Mississippi, as he was convinced that the 
power holding the mouth of that river must of necessity control the great 
valley through which it flows. Accordingly, Robert R. Livingston, the 
American minister at Paris, was ordered to open negotiations with the 
French government for the purchase of Louisiana. 

He found this an easier task than he had expected, for Napoleon, who 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



233 



was on tlie eve of a great European war, was much in need of money, and 
was by no means anxious to add to his troubles by being obliged to defend 
Louisiana. A bargain was soon concluded by which the United States 
became the possessors of the whole region of Louisiana, from the Mississippi 
to the Pacific, 



embracing an 
area of over a 
million square 
miles. 

The United 
States paid to 
France the 
sum of $15,- 
000,000 for 
this immense 
region, and 
guaranteed to 
the then in- 
habitants all 
the rights of 
American citi- 
zens. " This 
accession of 
territory," said 
Napoleon upon 
the completion 
of this very 
great purchase 
" strengthens 
forever the 




THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

power of the United States, and I have just given to England a maritime 
rival that will sooner or later humble her pride." 

James Aladison, the fourth president of the United States, was inaug- 
urated at Washington on the 4th of March, 1809. He was in the fift3^-eighth 
year of his age, and had long been one of the most prominent men in the 
Union. He had borne a distinguished part in the Convention of 1787, and 
was the author of the Virginia resolutions of 1786, which brought about 



234 



THE NtW REPUBLIC. 



the assembling of this Convention. He had entered the Convention as one 
of the most prominent leaders of the National party, which favored the 
consolidation of the States into one distinct and supreme nation, and had 
acted with Randolph, Hamilton, Wilson, Morris, and King, in seeking to 
bring about such a result. 

When it was found impossible to carry out this plan Mr. Madison gave 

his cordial support 
to the system which 
was finally adopted 
by the Convention ; 
and while the con- 
stitution was under 
discussion by the 
states, he united 
with Hamilton and 
Jay in earnestly re- 
commending the 
adoption of the con- 
stitution by the 
states, in a series 
of able articles, to 
which the general 
title of the "Feder- 
alist " was given. 

The Indians 

of the northwest 

were becoming very 

troublesome, and 

their aggressions 

were attributed to 

the instigation of 

the British in Can- 

jAMES MADISON. ada. Tecumseh, a 

'Shawnee chief of unusual abilities, attempted to unite the Indians of the 

continent in a grand effort against the Americans, and for this purpose 

passed from tribe to tribe, from the great lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, and 

urged them to take up the hatchet. He was assisted by his twin brother. 




THE NEW REPUBLIC. 235 

Elskwatawa, generally called " the Prophet," who appealed to the superstitious 
fears of the savages by his jugglery. 

The federal government determined to strike a blow at the savages 
before their plans for union could be brought to a successful issue. In the 
autumn of 1811 Major-General William Henry Harrison, then governor of 
Indiana Territory, was sent to operate against the tribes on the Wabash. 
He took with him a body of Kentucky and Indiana militia, and one regi- 
ment of regiment troops. On the 0th of November he arrived at the 
junction of the Tippecanoe and Wabash Rivers, near the town of the 
Prophet, the brother of Tecumseh. 

Furious Attack on the American Camp. 

The Prophet sent several of the principal Indian chiefs to meet Harrison 
with offers of submission. They informed him that the Prophet would come 
into camp the next day, and make a treaty with him. Harrison suspected 
that the purpose of the Indians was simply to gain time, and that they 
would probably seek to surprise him during the night, and accordingly 
caused his men to bivouac on their arms that night. His precautions were 
,well taken. About four o'clock on the morning of November 7th the 
savages made a furious attack on the American camp. They were promptly 
received, and after a severe conflict of several hours were -put to flight. 
Tecumseh was not present in this engagement. General Harrison followed 
up this victory by destroying the Prophet's town, and building some forts 
for the protection of the country. The battle of Tippecanoe quieted the 
Indians of the northwest for a while, but greatly increased the desire of the 
people of that region for war with Kn gland. 

Disagreements having arisen between this country and Great Britain, 
our government demanded redress; otherwise war would be declared. On 
the 30tli of May, 1812, the British minister at Washington delivered to the 
government of the United States the final reply of his government to the 
demands of this country in the questions at issue between them. This 
ulthnatiim was submitted to Congress by the President on the 1st of June, 
accompanied by a message in which he recapitulated the wrongs inflicted 
by Great Britain upon this country, her violations of the rights of neutrals, 
her impressment of American seamen, her seizures of American ships and 
her refusal to enter into any equitable arrangement for the settlement of 
these questions. The determination of Great Britain to drive American 



236 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



commerce from the seas was evident, and the question was submitted to 
Congress whether the United States should continue to submit to these 
outrages or should resort to war to protect their rights. 

After a debate of several days an act declaring war against Great 
Britain was passed by Congress and was approved by the President on the 
18th of June, 1812. On the lUth the President issued a proclamation 




A PIONEER HERO'S FIGHT WITH THE SAVAGES. 

declaring that war existed between the United States and Great Britain 
and her dependencies. 

In the first campaign, including the year 1812, the results were disas- 
trous to the Americans. The attempts to invade Canada had ended with 
the surrender of Detroit and the defeat at Queenstown. A large part of 
the frontier was lost, and over twenty-five hundred men had been captured 
by the enemy. The failures had aroused the discontent of a considerable 
portion of the people of the Union, and the opposition of the New England 
States to the war was greatly increased. Matters would have seemed hope- 
less had not the navy, which had been the most neglected branch of the 
public service, redeemed the national honor by a series of brilliant successes. 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 237 

It was the intention of the government at the outset of the war to 
retain the vessels of the navy in the ports of the country to assist in the 
defence of the harbors of the United States. The fear was openly expressed 
that if these vessels should venture to put to sea they would certainly be 
captured by the British cruisers. The officers of the navy were indignant 
at these insinuations, and as soon as the news of the declaration of war 
was received at New York several of the vessels of war in that port put to 
sea at once to avoid the orders which their commanders feared were on the 
way to detain them in port, and also for the purpose of making a dash at 
the Jamaica fleet, which was on its way to England. They followed this 
fleet to the entrance of the British Channel, but without overtaking it. 

A British squadron sailed from Halifax to cruise off the port of New 
York. The American frigate "Constitution," Captain Hull, while endeav- 
oring to enter New York, fell in with this squadron, and was chased by it 
for four days. Her escape was due entirely to the superior skill of her 
of&cers and the energy of her crew. The chase was one of the most 
remarkable in history, and the escape of the American frigate won great 
credit for Captain Hull. Failing to reach New York, Hull sailed for Boston, 
and reached that port in safety. Remaining there a few days, he put to 
sea again, just in time to avoid orders from Washington to remain in port. 

Spirited Naval Engagements. • 

In July the American frigate " Essex " captured a transport filled with 
British soldiers, and a few days later encountered the British sloop of war 
" Alert," which mistook her for a merchantman. The " Essex " suffered 
her to approach, and then opened a rapid fire upon her, which soon dis- 
abled her and forced her to surrender. 

The " Constitution " sailed from Boston to the northeast. On the 
19th of August, while cruising off the mouth of the St. Lawrence, she fell 
in with the British frigate " Guerriere," Captain Dacres, one of the vessels 
that had chased her during the previous month. The " Guerriere " im- 
mediately stood towards her, and both vessels prepared for action. The 
English commander opened his fire at long range, but Captain Hull 
refused to reply until he had gotten his ship into a favorable position, and 
for an hour and a half he manoeuvred in silence, under a heavy fire from 
the British frigate. 

At length, having got within pistol shot of her adversary, the " Con- 



238 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



stitution " opened a terrible lire upon her, and poured in lier broadsides 
with such effect that the " Guerriere " struck her colors in thirty minutes. 
The " Guerriere " lost seventy-nine men killed and wounded, while the loss 
of the " Constitution " was but seven men. The '' Guerriere " was so 
much injured in the fight that she could not be carried into port, and 
Hull had her burned. 




CAPTURE OF THE " GUERRIERE " BY THE "CONSTITUTION." 

The "Constitution" then returned to Boston with her prison ^t-s, and 
was received with an ovation. It was the first time in half a century tnat 
a British frigate had struck her flag in a fair fight, and the victory was 
hailed with delight in all parts of the country. 

On the 18th of October the American sloop-of-war " Wasp," eighteen, 
Captain Jones, met the British brig " Frolic," twenty-two, convoying six 
merchantmen. In order to give her convoy a chance to escape, the 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



239 



" Frolic " shortened sail and awaited the approach of the " Wasp." The 
" Wasp " poured a raking fire into her antagonist and then boarded her. 
The boarders found the deck of the " Frolic " covered with the dead. 
Only one man remained unhurt, and he stood gallantly at his pest at the 
wheel. Before the prize could be secured the British frigate " Poictiers," 
74, hove in sight and captured both vessels. The " Wasp " lost eight men 
in the engagement; the "Frolic" eighty. 




THE " AVASP " BOARDING THE " FROLIC." 

These victories aroused the greatest enthusiasm in the United States. 
The great disparity in the losses sustained by the respective combatants 
made it evident to both nations that the American ships had been better 
handled in every engagement. The British endeavored to account for the 
American successes by declaring that the United States vessels were 
seventy-fours in disguise, or that they carried heavier guns than their 
adversaries; but the thinking men of both countries saw that they had 
been won by the superior skill of the American officers. 

It was clear that nothing of importance could be accomplished on land 
as long as the British held Lake Erie. Oliver Hazard Perry, a young 
lieutenant of the United States navy, volunteered to win back the lake from 



240 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



the enemy, who 
held it with a 
small squadron 
under Capt. Bar- 
clay. By extraor- 
dinary exertions, 
Perry built and 
equipped a fleet 
at Presque Isle, 
now Erie. It con- 
sisted of nine ves- 
sels of various 
sizes, from one 
carrying twenty- 
five guns down 
to one which car- 
ried one gun. Its 
total armament 
amounted to fifty- 
five guns. It 
was manned by 
a small force of 
sailors from the 
east, and by a 
large number of 
volunteers from 
General Harri- 
son's army. As 
soon as his fleet 
was in proper 
condition, Perry 
stood out into the 
lake to seek the 
enemy. The Brit- 
PERRY's VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE. ish squadrou con- 

sisted of six vessels, carrying sixty-three guns. Each carried a complement 
of somewhere near five hundred men. 




THE NEW REPUBLIC. 241 

The two squadrons soon encountered each, other, and on the 10th of 
September a severe battle was fought between them, at the western end of 
the lake. Perry, at the opening of the fight, displayed a flag from his 
vessel, bearing the words of the brave Lawrence, '' Don't give up the ship." 
It was greeted with cheers from the men. During the battle, the American 
flag-ship, the " Lawrence," was disabled, and Perry passed in an open boat, 
under a heavy fire, to the " Niagara," the next largest ship, and trans- 
ferred his flag to her. The result was that the British fleet was defeated, 
and forced to surrender. Perry announced his victory to General Harrison 
in the following characteristic message: "We have met the enemy and 
they are ours. Two ships, one brig, a schooner, and a sloop." 

Death of the Famous Chief Tecumseh. 

This victory was of the highest importance to the Americans. It gave 
them the command of Lake Erie, and opened the way to Canada. Harrison 
hastened to profit by it, and advanced rapidly towards Detroit and Maiden. 
Proctor abandoned those places, and retreated with his own forces, and 
Tecumseh and his Indians, into Canada. At Detroit Harrison was joined 
by thirty-five hundred mounted Kentuckians, under the aged Governor 
Shelby, one of the heroes of King's Mountain, and Col. Richard M. John- 
son. He at once entered Canada in pursuit of Proctor, and, by a forced 
march of sixty miles, came up with him on the banks of the Thames, on 
October 5th. A short, but desperate battle ensued, in which Tecumseh 
was killed, and his Indians put to flight. The British were routed, and 
Proctor saved himself only by the speed of his horse. By these successes 
the Americans won back Michigan Territory, and for the present gave 
peace and security to the northwestern frontier. The second war with 
Great Britain closed with victory for the American arms, and a treaty of 
peace between the two countries was signed on the 14th of December, 1814. 

James Monroe was inaugurated President of the United States, at 
Washington, on the 4th of March, 1817. He had served during the revo- 
lution in the army of the United States, and had entered Congress soon 
after the formation of the government as a representative from Virginia, 
and had won great credit by his services in that body. He had been secre- 
tary of state during Mr. ]\Iadison's administration, and increased his fame 
by his discharge of the difficult and delicate duties of this position. 

In his inaugural address he declared his intention to administer the 
16 



242 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



government in accordance with the principles of Washington, and the sen- 
timents of this document were warmly applauded throughout the country 
by Federalists as well as Democrats. The administration of Mr. Monroe 
covered a period generally known in our political history as " the era of 

good feeling." Party 
lines were almost 
blotted out, and the 
people of the coun- 
try were more united 
than at any previous 
or subsequent period 
in the support of na- 
tional measures. A 
few months after his 
inauguration Presi- 
dent Monroe made 
a tour through the 
Eastern States. He 
was everywhere re- 
ceived with marked 
attention, and the 
Federalist city of Bos- 
ton entertained him 
with the cordial hos- 
pitality which is one 
of her characteristics. 
The last year of 
Mr. Monroe's admin- 
istration was marked 
JAMES MONROE. by an advent of the 

deepest interest to the whole country. In 1824 the venerable Marquis 
de Lafayette came to the United States at the express invitation of Con- 
gress to visit the nation whose freedom he had helped to achieve. He 
reached New York on the 13th of August, and was received with 
enthusiasm. He travelled through all the States, and was everywhere 
received with demonstrations of respect and affection, and he was given 
abundant evidence in all parts of the country that the nation cherished 




THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



243 



with love and pride the memory of the generous stranger who came to its 
aid in its darkest hour of trial. 

Returning to Washington during the session of Congress, Lafayette 
spent several weeks there. Congress, as a token of the gratitude of the 
nation for his services, voted him a township of land and the sum of two 
hundred thousand dollars. The frigate " Brandy wine," just finished, was 
appointed to convey him back to France, a delicate compliment, as the ves- 
sel was named after the stream on whose banks Lafayette fought his first 
battle and was wounded in the cause of American independence. At the 
time of his visit to the United States Lafayette was nearly seventy years old. 

In the fall of 1824 the Presidential 
election was held amid great political ex- 
citement. The " era of good feeling " 
was at an end, and party spirit ran high. 
There were four candidates in the field, 
Mr. Monroe having declined a third term: 
Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, 
William H. Crawford and Henry Clay. 

None of these received a popular ma- 
jority, and the election was thrown into 
the House of Representatives in Congress, 
and resulted in the choice of John Quincy 
Adams, of Massachusetts, as President 
of the United States. John C. Calhoun, 
of South Carolina, had been chosen Vice- 
President by the popular vote. 

On the 4th of March, 1825, John JOhn quincy adams. 

Quincy Adams was inaugurated President of the United States. He was 
the son of John Adams, the second President of the republic, and was in 
his fifty-eighth year. He was a man of great natural ability, of strong 
personal character, and of unbending integrity. He had been carefully 
educated, and was one of the most learned men in the Union. 

Apart from his general education, he had received a special training in 
statesmanship. He had served as minister to the Netherlands, and in the 
same capacity at the courts of Portugal, Prussia, Russia and England, 
where he had maintained a high reputation. He had represented the State 
of Massachusetts in the Federal Senate, and had been Secretary of State 




244 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



in the cabinet of Mr. Monroe, during the last administration. He was, 
therefore, thoroughly qualified for the duties of the high office upon which 
he now entered. 

He called to his cabinet men of marked ability, at the head of which 
was Henry Clay, who became Secretary of State. The administration of 
Mr. Adams was one of remarkable prosperity. The country was growing 
wealthier by the rapid increase of its agriculture, manufactures and com- 
merce, and abroad it commanded the respect of the world. Still party spirit 

raged with great violence during 
the whole of this period. 

On the 4th of July, 1826, died, 
within a few hours of each other, 
two ex-Presidents of the republic 
— John Adams and Thomas Jef- 
ferson — the latter the author of the 
Declaration of Independence, and 
the former its most ef&cient sup- 
porter. Mr. Adams died at his 
home at Quincy, Massachusetts, at 
"^ the ripe age of ninety years ; Mr. 
Jefferson, at Monticello, his beauti- 
ful Virginian home, at the age of 
eighty-two. Both had filled the 
highest stations in the republic 
and both had lived to see the coun- 
HENRY CLAY. try they loved take rank among 

the first nations of the globe. They died on the fiftieth anniversary 
of American independence. 

Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States, was 
inaugurated at Washington, on the 4th of March, 1829. President Jackson 
was in many respects one of the most remarkable men of his day. He 
was of Scotch-Irish descent, and was born in North Carolina, during the 
controversy between the colonies and Great Britain, which preceded the 
Revolution. He was left fatherless at an early age, and his youth was 
passed amid the stirring scenes of the war for independence. At the age 
of thirteen, he began his career by taking part in the fight at Hanging 
Rock, under General Sumter. 





DECATUR'S CONFLICT WITH THE ALGERINE AT TRIPOLI. 



>, . 





THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



245 



The home of the Jacksons was broken up and pillaged by the Tories, 
and the mother and her two sons became wanderers. The sons were 
shortly after made prisoners by the Tories, and the day after his capture 
Andrew Jackson was ordered by a British officer to clean his boots. He 
indignantly refused, and the officer struck him with the flat of his sword. 
The boys were at 



length exchanged, 
through the exer- 
tions of their lov- 
ing mother. Both 
had contracted the 
small-pox during 
their captivity, and 
the elder son soon 
died of his disease. 
Not long after- 
wards, Mrs. Jack- 
son, with a few 
other ladies, went 
to Charleston to 
minister to the 
wants of the Amer- 
ican prisoners of 
war, confined there 
by the British. A 
fever was raging 
among these un-^ 
fortunates at the 
time, and Mrs. 
Jackson was soon 
numbered among 

its victims. Thus, ANDREW JACKSON. 

at the age of fifteen, Andrew Jackson was left alone in the world 
without a relative. Though young in years, he had been greatly matured 
in character by his trials. Even at this early age he was generous to a 
fault to his friends, and immovable in his resolutions when once formed. 
A few years later he removed to Tennessee, then a Territory, and. 




246 THE NEW REPUBLIC. 

upon the admission of the State into the Union, was elected as her first 
representative in Congress. His brilliant victory over the British at New 
Orleans made him one of the most noted men of the day, and his prompt 
and decisive measures against the Spaniards in Florida, during Mr. Monroe's 
administration, greatly added to his reputation. 

General Jackson Elected President. 

During the administration of John Adams, General Jackson occupied 
a seat in the United States Senate, and gave a cordial support to the prin- 
ciples of Mr. Jefferson. Resigning his seat in the Senate before the close 
of his term, he was elected one of the judges of the Supreme Court of 
Tennessee. The election of General Jackson to the Presidency was regarded 
with some anxiety, for though his merits as a soldier were conceded, it 
was feared by many that his known imperiousness of will and his inflexi- 
bility of purpose would seriously disqualify him for the delicate duties of 
the Presidency. Nature had made him a ruler, however, and his adminis- 
tration was marked by the fearless energy that characterized every act of 
his life, and was on the whole successful and satisfactory to the great 
majority of his countrymen. 

The tariff question now engaged the attention of the country once 
more. The manufacturing interests were still struggling against foreign 
competition, and it was the opinion of the Eastern and Middle States that 
the general government should protect them by the imposition of high 
duties upon products of foreign countries imported into the Union. The 
south was almost a unit in its opposition to a high tariff. Being, as we 
have said, an agricultural section, its interests demanded a free market, and 
it wished to avail itself of the privilege of purchasing where it could buy 
cheapest. The south and the west were the markets of the east, and the 
interests of that section demanded the exclusion of foreign competition in 
supplying these markets. 

In July, 1827, a convention of manufacturers was held at Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania, and a memorial was adopted praying Congress to increase 
the duties on foreign goods to an extent which would protect American 
industry. When Congress met in December, 1827, the protective policy 
was the most important topic of the day. It was warmly discussed in 
Congress and throughout the country. The interests of New England were 
championed by the matchless eloquence of Daniel Webster, who claimed 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



•247 



that, as the adoption of the protective policy by the government had forced 
New England to turn her energies to manufacturers, the government was 
bound to protect her against competition. After a very able and exhaustive 
discussion the tariff bill was passed by the House on the fifteenth of April, 
1828, and was approved by the President a little later. It was termed by 
its opponents the " Bill of Abominations." 

The Presidential election was held in the fall of 1836. General Jackson 
having declined to be a candidate for a third term, the Democratic party 
supported Martin Van Buren for 
President, and Richard M. Johnson, 
of Kentucky, for Vice-President. 
Mr. Van Buren was elected by a 
large majorit}^ ; but the electors 
having failed to make a choice of 
a candidate for Vice-President, that 
task devolved upon the Senate, 
which elected Colonel Richard M. 
Johnson by a majority of seven- 
teen votes. 

Martin Van Buren, the new 
President, entered upon the duties 
of his office on the 4th of March, 
1837. He was in his fifty-fifth 
year, and had occupied many dis- 
tinguished positions in public life. 

He had represented the State of daniel webster. 

New York in the Senate of the United States, and had been governor of that 
State. He had been minister to England, had been made Secretary of State 
at the commencement of General Jackson's first term, and had been elected 
Vice-President of the United States at the period of Jackson's re-election. 

The extraordinary prosperity which had prevailed throughout the nation 
during the last year of Jackson's term came to a sudden end almost imme- 
diately after the inauguration of Mr. Van Buren. For some time past a 
reckless spirit of speculation had engrossed the nation, and had led to 
excessive banking and the issuing of paper money to an extent far beyond 
the necessities of the country. 

The distress of the country was verv great. Hundreds of thousands of 




248 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



laborers were thrown out of employment, and business of all kinds was 
much depressed. The government, which a few months before had been out 
of debt and in possession of a surplus of forty millions, now found itself 
unable to provide funds for its ordinary expenses. The President was com- 
pelled to summon 



an extra session of 
Congress, that met 
on the 4th of Sep- 
tember, 1837. The 
President in his 
message attributed 
the confused con- 
dition of the coun- 
try to the exces- 
sive issues of bank- 
notes, the great fire 
in New York in 
1835, and the reck- 
less speculations of 
the people for sev- 
eral years past. He 
suggested no spe- 
cial legislation for 
the relief of these 
troubles, as he re- 
garded such a course 
as beyond the con- 
stitutional author- 
ity of the general 
government. In- 
deed, the govem- 




MARTIN VAN BUREN. 



ment could do but little to restore public confidence; that was the task of 
the people themselves, and it was not accomplished for several years. 

On the 4th of March, 1841, William Henry Harrison was inaugurated 
President of the United States at Washington, in the presence of an immense 
concourse of citizens from all parts of the Union. He was in his sixty- 
ninth year, and had spent forty years of his life in the public service. His 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



249 



services during the Indian hostilities which preceded the War of 1812-15, 
and his exploits during that war, have been related. He had served as 
governor of Indiana Territory, and had been both a member of Congress 
and a senator of the United States. 

He was a man of pure life and earnest character, and the certainty of 
a change of policy in the measures of the federal government had caused 
the people of the country to look forward to his administration with hope 
and confidence. He began by calling to seats in his cabinet men of promi- 
nence and ability. At the head of the cabinet he placed Daniel Webster, 
as Secretary of State. The President issued a proclamation convening 
Congress in special session on the 31st of 
May, 1841. He was not destined to fulfil 
the hopes of his friends, however. He was 
suddenly seized with pneumonia, and died 
on the 4th of April, 1841 — ^just one month 
after his inauguration. 

It was the first time that a president 
of the United States had died iu office, and 
a gloom was cast over the nation by the 
sad event. The mourning of the people 
was sincere, for in General Harrison the 
nation lost a faithful, upright and able 
citizen. He had spent forty years in 
prominent public positions, and had dis- 
charged every duty confided to him with william henry harrison. 
marked ability and integrity'', and at last went to his grave a poor man. 
* * Brave old Cincinnatus ! he left but his plow. ' ' 

Upon the assembling of Congress, that body, " out of consideration of 
his expenses in removing to the seat of government, and the limited means 
he had left behind," appropriated the equivalent of one year's presidential 
salary — twenty-five thousand dollars — to Mrs. Harrison. 

According to the terms of the constitution, upon the death of General 
Harrison, the office of president of the United States devolved upon the 
vice-president, John Tyler, of Virginia Mr. Tyler was not in the city of 
Washington at the time of the death of his predecessor, but repaired to 
that city without loss of time, upon being notified of the need of his 
presence, and on the 6th of April took the oath of office before Judge Cranch, 




250 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



chief justice of the District of Columbia. Mr. Tyler was in his fifty-second 
year, and had served as governor of Virginia, and as representative and 
senator in Congress from that state. On the 9th of April President Tyler 
issued an address to the people of the United States, in which there was 
no indication of a departure from the policy announced in the inaugural of 

General Harrison. 
He retained the cab- 
inet ministers of his 
predecessor in their 
respective positions. 
In 1842 a series 
of disturbances oc- 
curred in the state 
of Illinois, which 
were but the fore- 
runners of a more 
serious embarrass- 
ment to the general 
government at a still 
later period. A new 
religious sect had 
sprung up some 
years before in the 
western part of New 
York. They called 
themselves Mor- 
mons, and were 
founded b}'- a most 
remarkable man by 
the name of Joseph 
JOHN TYLER. Smith, who pro- 

fessed to have a new revelation from God, written on plates of gold. 
Among the articles of the Mormon faith is one which teaches the doctrine 
of a plurality of wives. Feeling that the east was not favorable to their 
growth, the Mormons at an early day removed to the west. They settled 
at first in Missouri, but so exasperated the people of that state by their 
conduct that they were soon driven out of Missouri- 




THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



251 



They settled in Illinois, and founded a city which they called Nauvoo, 
and built a temple. Their numbers increased rapidly from emigration from 
nearly every country in Europe. The new-comers were mainly persons of 
low position and without education. Conscious of tlicir strength they raised 
troops, and set the authority of the State of Illinois at defiance. The State 
endeavored to reduce them to obedience, and their conduct, as in Missouri, 
turned the people against them. Several conflicts ensued between the Mor- 
mons and the authorities. In one of these Joe Smith, the prophet, and 
his brother, were seized and put in jail, and while lying there were mur- 
dered by the mob in July, 1844. This brought matters to a crisis, and 
the people of Illinois determined to 
drive the Mormons across the Missis- 
sippi. Nauvoo was attacked in 1845, 



and the Mormons were compelled to 
leave the State. In 1846 they bent 
their steps westward, and after a 
long and painful journey across the 
plains, reached the valley of Salt 
Lake, and established a settlement 
there. Out of this settlement grew 
the Territory of Utah. 

In 1844 occurred one of the most 
important events in the history of 
the world. In 1832 Samuel F. B. 
Morse, a native of Massachusetts, 
invented the electric telegraph. He 

spent some years in perfecting his in- professor morse. 

vention, and in 1838 applied to Congress for a small appropriation to as- 
sist him in building a line of wire to demonstrate the usefulness of his 
discovery. He was obliged to wait five years for a favorable answer, and it 
was not until he had given up all hope of receiving aid from Congress 
that that body, on the last day of the session of 1843, appropriated the 
sum of thirty thousand dollars to construct a telegraph line between Wash- 
ing City and Baltimore, a distance of forty miles. The line was com- 
pleted in 1844, and was successfully operated by Professor Morse. This 
was the first line established in the world. In the thirty-one years which 
have elapsed since then the use of the telegraph has become general 




252 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



throughout tlie civilized world, aud in tlie United States alone there are 
more than sixty thousand miles of telegraph lines in operation at the 
present time. 

In the fall of 1844 the Presidential election took place. The leading 
political question of the day was the annexation of Texas. It was advocated 
by the administration of President Tyler and by the Democratic party. 
This party also made the claim of the United States to Oregon one of the 

leading issues of the campaign. Its 
candidates were James K. Polk, of 
Tennessee, and George M. Dallas, 
of Pennsylvania. The Whig party 
gave their support to Henry Clay, 
of Kentucky, and Theodore Fre- 
linghuysen, of New Jersey, and op- 
posed the annexation of Texas. 

During this campaign, which 
was one of unusual excitement, the 
Anti-slavery party made its appear- 
ance for the first time as a distinct 
political organization, and nominated 
James G. Birney as its candidate 
for the Presidency. 

The result of the campaign was 

a decisive victory for the Democrats. 

This success was generally regarded 

GENERAL SAM HOUSTON. as au emphatic expression of the 

popular will respecting the Texas and Oregon questions. Mr. Birney did 

not receive a single electoral vote, and of the popular vote only sixty-four 

thousand six hundred and fifty-three ballots were cast for him. 

One of the leading men in Texas at this time, and in fact for many 
years, was General Sam Houston, whose popularity assured him the most 
eminent positions both as governor of his adopted state and senator at 
Washington. Ke commanded the Texan army in a revolt against Mexico 
and gained a brilliant victory. 

An alarming tendency to anarchy was experienced in the anti-rent 
disturbances in the State of New York in 1844. In the early history of 
this State certain settlers received patents of considerable portions of land — 





w 

:§ 

o 

£-< 

Q 
!zi 
< 

O 
CO 

<i 
W 

(a 




COMMODORE PERRY AT THE BATTLE ON LAKE ERIE 




THE ANTI-RENT RIOT IN COLUMBIA COUNTY, 
NEW YORK. 



253 



254 THE NEW REPUBLIC. 

of whicli that of Van Reusselaer was the most extensive — comprehending 
the greater part of Albany and Rensselaer Counties. These lands were 
divided into farms containing from 160 to 100 acres, and leased in per- 
petuity, on the following conditions : The tenant must each year pay to 
the landlord a quantity of wheat, from 22^^ bushels to 10, with four fat 
fowls and a day's service with horses and wagon. If the tenant sold his 
lease, the landlord was entitled to one-quarter of the purchase-money. 

In process of time the tenants began to consider these legal conditions 
as anti-republican — a relic of feudal tyranny. The excellent Stephen Van 
Rensselaer, who came into possession of the patent in 1785, had, in the 
kindness of his nature, omitted to exact his legal rights ; and $200,000 
back rent had accrued — which he, djang in 1840, appropriated by will. 
The tenants murmured when called on to pay it, and sheriffs, in attempting 
to execute legal precepts, were forcibly resisted. An ineffectual attempt to 
put down these disorders was made on the part of the State authorities by 
a military movement, called in derision " the Heldeberg war." 

Mounted Bands Disguised as Indians. 

In the summer of 1844 the anti-rent disturbances broke out with great 
violence in the eastern towns of Rensselaer, and on the Livingston manor, 
in Columbia County. Extensive associations were formed by the anti- 
renters to resist the laws. They kept armed and mounted bands, disguised 
as Indians, scouring the country; and the traveler as he met them, issuing 
from some dark wood, with their hideous masks and gaudy calicoes, was 
required, on penalty of insult, to sa}^, '' Down with the rent." These law- 
less rangers forcibly entered houses, took men from their homes, and tarred 
and feathered or otherwise maltreated them. In Rensselaer County, at 
noonday, a man was killed where about fifty " Indians " were present — 
some of whom were afterwards arraigned, when they swore that they knew 
nothing of the murder. Sometimes 1,000 of these disguised anarchists were 
assembled in one body. Similar disturbances occurred in Delaware County. 
At length Steele, a deputy-sheriff, was murdered in the execution of his 
official duty, and his murderers were apprehended. 

Meanwhile Silas Wright was chosen governor of the State. Much doc^ 
his country owe him for the wisdom and firmness of the measures by 
which public order was restored. On the 27th of August he proclaimed 
the County of Delaware in a state of insurrection. Resolute men were 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



255 



made sheriffs, and competent military aid afforded them. Leading anti- 
renters were taken, brought to trial, and imprisoned. The murderers of 
Steele were condemned to death — but their punishment was commuted to 
that of perpetual confinement. On the 27th of January, 1847, Governor 
Young, the successor of Mr. Wright, by his proclamation, released from 
the State's prison the whole number of eighteen, who had been committed 
for anti-rent offences. 

The inauguration of James K. Polk as President of the United States 
took place on the fourth of March, 1845. He had served the country as 
governor of the State of Tennessee, 
and for fourteen years had been a 
member of the House of Represen- 
tatives in Congress from that State, 
and had been several times chosen 
speaker of that body. His cabinet was 
selected from the first men of his party. 

In 1845 the government of the 
United States sent an ambassador to 
Mexico to settle the boundaries, and 
arrange any diflS.culties that existed 
between the two countries; but, on 
his arrival, the Mexican government 
refused to receive him. In the 
meantime the American army had 
been ordered to march to the Rio 
Grande, and in 1846 hostilities commenced between the two countries. 

Mexico claimed that the limits of Texas properly ended at the Neuces 
river, while the Texans insisted that their boundary was the Rio Grande. 
Thus the region between these two rivers became a debatable land, claimed 
by both parties, and a source of great and immediate danger. It was 
evident that Mexico was about to occupy this region with her troops, and 
the legislature of Texas, alarmed by the threatening attitude of that 
country, called upon the United States government to protect its territor}-. 
The President at once sent General Zachary Taylor with a force of fifteen 
hundred regular troops, called the " arni}^ of occupation," to "take position 
in the country between the Neuces and the Rio Grande, and to repel any 
invasion of the Texan territor3^" 




JAMES K. POLK, 



256 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



General Taylor accordingly took position at Corpus Cliristi, at the 
mouth of the Neuces, in September, 1845, and remained there until the 
spring of 184G. At the same time a squadron of war vessels under Com- 
modore Conner was despatched to the Gulf to cooperate with General 
Taylor. Both of these officers " were ordered to commit no act of hostility 
against Mexico unless she declared war, or was herself the aggressor by 
striking the first blow." 

In the war that followed, the Americans were successful in every 




LIEUTENANT GRANT GOING FOR AMMUNITION AT MONTEREY. 

engagement. They took possession of all their chief cities and towns, and 
even their strong fortress at Vera Cruz. They conquered several provinces 
north and east of the capital, and on the 23d of August, 1847, they took 
possession of the City of IMexico. Their armies were then spread over the 
country to occupy the principal cities. In May, 1848, peace was declared, 
and the American troops were withdrawn from the country. 

It was at the battle of Monterey, that one of our great generals in the 
Civil War first exhibited those daring qualities that afterward gave him fame. 
General Grant, then an unknown young lieutenant, was in the battle, and 
distinguished himself on account of " gallant and meritorious services." 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



257 



Several times during the battle lie demonstrated his superior judgment and 
courage, not more in the fierce charge, than in volunteering to make a 
dangerous ride under fire, in search of ammunition. 

The 4th of March, 1849, fell on Sunday, and the inauguration of 
General Taylor as 
President of the 
United States took 
place on Monday, 
the 5th of March. 

The new Presi- 
dent was a native of 
Virginia, but had 
removed with his 
parents to Kentucky 
at an early age, and 
had grown up to 
manhood on the fron_ 
tiers of that State. 
In 1808, at the age 
of twenty-four, he 
was commissioned 
a lieutenant in the 
army by President 
Jefferson, and had 
spent forty years in 
the military service 
of the country. His 
exploits in the Flor- 
ida war, and the war 
with Mexico, have 
been related. His 
brilliant victories in Mexico had made him the most popular man in the 
United States, and had won him the high ofi&ce of the Presidency. He was 
without political experience, but he was a man of pure and stainless 
integrity, of great firmness, a sincere patriot, and possessed of strong, good 
sense. He had received a majority of the electoral votes of both the Northern 

and Southern States, and was free from party or sectional ties of any kind. 
17 




ZACHARY TAYLOR. 



258 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



On the 29tli of January, 1850, Henry Clay introduced into the Senate 
a series of resolutions, designed to settle all the points in dispute by a 
general compromise. The resolutions was referred to a committee of thir- 
teen, of which Mr. 
Clay was made chair- 
man. In due time 
the committee re- 
ported a bill, known 
as the " Omnibus 
Bill," from its em- 
bracing in one meas- 
ure all Mr. Clay's 
propositions. It pro- 
vided for the admis- 
sion of California as 
a free State; the 
organization of the 
Territories of Utah 
and New Mexico, 
without reference to 
slavery; the adjust- 
ment of the bound- 
ary between Texas 
and New Mexico, 
by paying to the 
former ten millions 
of dollars ; the aboli- 
tion of the slave 
trade in the District 
of Columbia ; and 
the enactment by 
Congress of a more stringent and effective law for the return to their 
masters of fugitive slaves. 

The Omnibus bill was warmly opposed in Congress, and in the country 
at large. The debate in the Senate brought out the views of the leading 
statesmen of the country. Senator Jefferson Davis declared the bill in no 
sense a compromise, because it was unequal in its provisions. The 




MILI^ARD FILLMORE. 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 259 

South, he declared, gained nothing by this measure, as the Constitution 
already required the rendition of fugitive slaves. He proposed, therefore, 
that the Missouri Compromise line should be extended to the Pacific, 
" with the specific recognition of the right to hold slaves in the territory 
below that line." 

Mr. Clay replied to this that " no earthly power could induce him to 
vote for a specific measure for the introduction of slavery where it had not 
existed, either north or south of that line. I am unwilling that the pos- 
terity of the present inhabitants of California and New Mexico should 
reproach us for doing just what we reproach Great Britain for doing to us. 
If the citizens of those Territories come here with constitutions establishing 
slavery, I am for admitting them into the Union ; but then it will be their 
own work, and not ours, and their posterity will have to reproach them, 
and not us." 

Mr. Calhoun was too ill to take part in the debate in person, but he 
prepared a speech of great ability, which was read for him in the Senate 
by Senator Mason, of Virginia. He declared that the Union could be pre- 
served only by maintaining an equal number of free and slave States, in 
order that the representation of the two sections of the country might be 
equal in the Senate of the United States. 

Great Union Speech by Webster. 

Mr. Webster also took part in the debate, and on this occasion delivered 
what is known as his " great Union speech of the 7th of March," which 
occupied three days in its delivery. He expressed substantially the same 
views as those advocated by Mr. Clay. His speech created a profound 
sensation throughout the country, and did much to secure the final accept- 
ance of the compromise measures. 

A few months later, President Taylor was suddenly stricken down with 
a fever, which, in a few days, terminated fatally. He died on the 9th of 
July, 1850, amid the grief of the whole country, which felt that it had lost 
a faithful and upright chief magistrate. Though the successful candidate 
of one political party, his administration had received the earnest support 
of the best men of the country, without regard to party, and his death was 
a national calamity. He had held office only sixteen months, but 
had shown himself equal to his dif&cult and delicate position. He 
was sixty-six years old at the time of his death. By the terms of the 



260 



THE NEW REPUBLIC. 



Constitution, the office of President devolved upon Millard Fillmore, Vice- 
President of the United States. 

President Pierce took the oath of office at the capitol at Washington 
on the 4th of March, 1853, in the presence of an immense throng. He 
was in his forty-ninth year, and had won an enviable name by his previous 
services to the country. He was a native of New Hampshire, and had 
represented that State for ^our years in the Lower House of Congress, and 

for nearly a full term in the Senate of 
the United States. He had also served 
with distinction during the Mexican war, 
as a brigadier-general. 

In February, 1854, the American mer- 
chant steamer "Black Warrior" was seized 
by the Spanish authorities at Havana, on 
the pretext that she had evaded or violated 
some uncertain revenue law, and the ship 
and her cargo were declared confiscated. 
This action of the Havana officials was 
;'|^ regarded in the United States as unjust, 
and aroused a great deal of feeling against 
the Spaniards, and gave a sudden impetus 
to the national sentiment in favor of the 
acquisition of Cuba. The affair of the 
" Black Warrior " was satisfactorily settled by the Spanish government. 
While the feeling aroused by the affair was at its height a conference 
of some of the American ministers in Europe, including Mr. Buchanan, 
minister to England, Mr. Mason, minister to France, and Mr. Soule, min- 
ister to Spain, and some others, was held at Ostend, in Belgium, and a 
circular was adopted recommending the acquisition of Cuba by the United 
States. This measure attracted much attention, and elicited considerable 
European criticism of the alleged ambitious designs of the United States. 
Mr. Soule, on his return to Madrid, was stopped at Calais by order of the 
emperor of the French, who had personal reasons for disliking him. The 
emperor, however, reconsidered his action, and allowed Soule to pass through 
France to the Spanish frontier. 




FRANKLIN PIERCE. 




CHAPTER XXV. 

OUTBREAK OF THE GREAT CIVIL WAR. 

)AMES BUCHANAN, the fifteenth President of the United States, 
was inaugurated at Washington on the 4th of March, 1857. He 
was in his sixty-sixth year, and was a statesman of great accom- 
plishments and ripe experience. He was born in Pennsylvania 
in 1791, and was by profession a lawyer. He had served his state 
in Congress as a representative and a senator, had been minister to Russia 
under President Jackson, and had been a member of the cabinet of President 
Polk as secretary of state. During the four year previous to his election 
to the presidency he had resided abroad as the minister of the United 
States to Great Britain, and in that capacity had greatly added to his 
reputation as a statesman. 

During the whole of Mr. Buchanan's administration the question of 
slavery in the territories continued to engross the minds of the people. In 
Kansas, which had not yet been admitted as a state into the Union, there 
sprang up a bitter warfare between the party favoring slavery and the party 
opposed to it. 

John Brown, an eccentric yet sincere and earnest opponent of slavery, 
took part in the struggle, and afterwards attempted, with a small band of 
followers, to strike a death-blow at slavery in West Virginia. He seized the 
United States arsenal at Harper's Ferry, and gave orders for the arrest of 
prominent citizens. He was apprehended, tried on the charge of having 
committed treasonable acts, and was executed. His band of followers was 
dispersed, yet such was his heroism, and so deep an impression did his 
self-sacrificing spirit make upon a multitude of people at the north that 
thousands were animated by his example, and the well-known song begin- 
ning, "John Brown's body lies mouldering in the ground," was sung as a 
war-cry by the Union army. 

The anti-slavery party in Kansas finally triumphed, and the territory 
was admitted into the Union as a free state. The people of the south, 
with a resolve quite unanimous, determined to sever their connection with 

261 



262 



OUTBREAK OF THE GREAT CIVIL WAR. 



the other states and form au independent Confederacy. South Carolina 
was the first state to take this serious step, which was the forerunner of 
one of the greatest conflicts known in history. Virginia was the last of 
the Southern States to secede, and this was done contrary to the wishes 

of many of her 
people. 

Previous to this, 
in the election of 
1860, Abraham Lin- 
coln, the nominee of 
the Republican par- 
ty, had been chosen 
President of the 
United States, an act 
that gave offence to 
the South. Mr. Lin- 
coln was born in 
Kentucky, in 1809, 
of poor but honest 
parents. His father 
removed in 1817 to 
Indiana. The lad 
accompanied him, 
and, young as he 
was, aided in build- 
ing the log cabin 
which sheltered the 
family ; and after- 
wards, on their re- 
moval to Illinois, by 
helping to split the 




JAMES BUCHANAN. 



rails which fenced the farm, he obtained the title of " Rail-Splitter," which, 
though meant to be opprobrious, he regarded as most honorable. When 
President of the United States he carried a cane manufactured from one 
of those very rails, by which his honest and faithful industry had aided 
his indigent parents. 

His mother had early taught him to read the Bible, and imbued his 



OUTBREAK OF THE GREAT CIVIL WAR. 



263 



mind witH its Holy morality. She also taught him to write, and to com- 
municate his thoughts by writing. Everything was done that the poverty 
of the family allowed, to assist him in gaining from common schools an 
imperfect education. Among his few books were two biographies of Wash- 
ington and one of Henry Clay. At the age of nineteen he was intrusted 
with the care of a flat-boat, in which he made a voyage to New Orleans. 
He boldly chose the law as his profession, though with very imperfect 
means of learning its principles ; but in the beginning of his practice he 
had a case in which he proved the innocence of a widow's son, who would 
otherwise have been condemned and im- 
prisoned. By this he gained friends and 
reputation. 

Following the examples of Washing- 
ton and Henry Clay, he ever took great 
interest in the political movements of his 
country, and he was put forward to vari- 
ous offices of trust, first, in the State, and 
then to a seat in the House of Represen- 
tatives in Congress ; and he was, at the 
time of his great dispute with Douglas, a 
rival candidate with him for a seat in the 
United States Senate. 

His innate sense of right, which he 
never weakened or debased, either as a 
lawyer or a politician, by speaking in favor 
of what he knew to be wrong, was his guide 
in making political as well as other dis- 
tinctions ; so that in debate his mind was never distracted by being 
divided against itself. The whole man went one way. His illustrations 
were always at hand, from a ready memory stored with abundant facts, 
which were often amusing, as seen through his love of the ludicrous. 
Hence his great success when the State became the arena of his remark- 
able dispute with Douglas, who was already famous as a speaker. 

Mr. Lincoln, guarded by troops, was inaugurated President on the 4th 
of March, 1861. In his inaugural address he tried to convince the South 
that they had, in the Constitution of the United States, a remedy for all 
their grievances, his earnest desire being to prevent the flow of blood. 




ABRAHAM LINCOI.N. 



264 



OUTBREAK OF THE GREAT CIVIL WAR. 



Soon after the secession of the Southern States they organized a gov- 
ernment, and made choice of Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, as President, 
and Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, as Vice-President. 

South Carolina had, on the 14th of January, 1861, declared in her 
Legislature that any attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter would be regarded 
as a declaration of war. April 11th, Governor Pickens, in a note to Major 
Robert Anderson, commanding Fort Sumter, ordered him to deliver up the 
fort. Anderson answered that he had no power to comply. 

The navy-yards at Brooklyn received orders to have vessels in readi- 
ness to send supplies to the beleaguered 
Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor. Sup- 
plies were sent by the " Star of the West," 
but did not arrive in season, the vessel 
having retreated from the harbor after 
being fired upon. These were, in reality, 
the first hostile shots from the South on 
the national flag, though the attack on 
Fort Sumter is regarded as the beginning 
of the war. 

The attack was conducted by Gen. G. 
T. Beauregard, favorably known in con- 
nection with the Mexican war, now ap- 
pointed to the chief command of the Con- 
federate forces. The assault was opened 
at four o'clock of April 12th, when was 
fired the first gun of the terrible civil 
war which ensued. The fort was sur- 
rendered on the afternoon of the 13th, after Anderson and his brave band 
of seventy men had fought for thirty-four hours, exposed to death by shot, 
shell and conflagration. Major Anderson reports that he " marched out on 
the 14th with colors flying and drums beating, bringing away company and 
private property, and saluting our flag with fifty guns." The men carried 
away the flag they had defended. That same day and hour, four years 
afterwards, that memorable flag was restored, and again waved over the 
shattered remains of Fort Sumter. 

The lightning of the telegraph flashed the news over the country that 
the flag was dishonored and the life of the nation threatened. Mr. Lin- 




JEFFERSON DAVIS. 



OUTBREAK OF THE GREAT CIVIL WAR. 



265 



coin, nerving himself to tHe terrible emergency, immediately issued a 
proclamation, in whicli he called for 75,000 troops, and convened Congress 
to meet on the 4th of July. There was a great uprising in the North and 
troops were hurried forward to Washington. 

The troops collected in the vicinity of Washington had surrounded the 
city with fortifications. Security was felt, and the cry "On to Richmond" 
began. General Scott had allowed himself to be misguided by it, and 
unwisely to sanction an onward 
movement, the command of which 
he gave to General Irwin McDowell, 
and which resulted in the disastrous 
battle of Manassas, or Bull Run. 
This was the name of a small af- 
fluent of the Ocoquan River. On 
this, thirty-seven miles from Alex- 
andria, and near the important point 
of Manassas Junction (so called from 
the meeting of railroads), the Con- 
federates, anticipating the move- 
ment, had been for some time pre- 
paring their battle-ground. They 
had so arranged their army that 
when the Union force should ap- 
pear they might be lured to a cer- 
tain fortified position on the stream. 

General Joseph H. Johnston, 
who had commanded a force of sev- geneiial Joseph e. johnston. 

eral thousands at Harper's Ferry, after burning the bridge across the Poto- 
mac, removed his troops to Winchester, where was the able ofiicer General 
Thomas J. Jackson, with his brigade, and a corps of cavalry. General Scott 
had, in the meantime, sent General Patterson, with an ample force, to keep 
General Johnston from leaving the valley of Virginia; but having Manas- 
sas in view, Johnston, after amusing Patterson with a skirmish at " Fall- 
ing Waters," eluded him, and escaped with his force through a gap in the 
mountain, in time to turn the fortunes of the day at Manassas. 

General McDowell moved from Washington on the 16th of July, 1861. 
On the 18th, the army passed through Centreville, their enemy luring 




266 OUTBREAK OF THE GREAT CIVIL WAR. 

them on as lie quietly retired before them. A conflict in advance of the 
final battle, however, occurred, in which the losses of the combatants were 
eight3Khree Union and sixty-eight Confederate. General Beauregard, who 
commanded the Confederates, wished to delay the final action, to give the 
necessary time for Johnston to join him from the valley, and General 
McDowell was obliged to defer the battle one day to receive provisions. 
On the morning of the 21st the attack, which was to have been made at 
six o'clock, was delayed for two or three hours. 

"There is Jackson, standing like a stone wall." 

Johnston had, meanwhile, arrived with a part of his force. His encoun- 
ter with Colonel Ambrose Burnside was the opening of the fight. It was 
at first a hotly- contested field, and such as did no discredit on either side 
to American valor and military skill. The advantage at first was on the 
side of the Unionists. Sherman, since so well known, was here distin- 
guished. But while flushed with well-grounded hopes of victory, the Union- 
ists were suddenly assaulted with a fresh body of nearly 3,000 troops 
arrived b}^ the railroad from the West, under General E. K. Smith, with 
cavalry under Jackson. The Confederate General Bee called to him, " Gen- 
eral, they are beating us back." Then turning to his men he exclaimed, 
" Look, there is Jackson, standing like a stone wall." The troops rallied, 
and though Bee was killed, the day was won for the Confederates. The 
Unionists could not, by the utmost efforts of their of&cers, be rallied, and 
their retreat became at length a panic-stricken rout. 

The day when the telegraph sent throughout the North the unex- 
pected news of this defeat, is yet known as "dark Monday;" the darkest 
day of the war. A pursuit was not ordered, though President Davis him- 
self was, at the close of the battle, on the ground. Jackson said : " Give 
me 10,000 men and I will take Washington;" and probably he could then 
have done so ; for he possessed a genius for war perhaps greater than any 
other developed b}^ the American conflict. 

Ball's Bluff, an eminence on the upper Potomac, opposite Harrison's 
Island, became known as the scene of a disastrous conflict. About 2,000 
of the Union army, under command of Col. H. Baker, of California, were 
employed by General Stone, of Massachusetts, in connection wdth other 
forces, to reconnoitre, and learn the position of the Confederates under 
General Kvans, extending along the Virginia side of the Potomac. By a 



OUTBREAK OF THE GREAT CIVIL WAR. 



267 



skilfully concealed and superior force, Evans furiously assaulted Baker's 
command, wliicli bravely stood firm till tkeir gallant commander fell. They 
were then forced in wild disorder to the stream, where no adequate means 
had been provided for them to cross. One crazy scow was soon filled and 

swamped, and the 
men, with others, 
were shot as they 
were swimming to 
the further shore. 
Seeing escape was 
hopeless, 500 gave 
themselves up as 
prisoners. 

Lieutenant-Gen- 
eral Scott, on ac- 
count of lameness 
and other infirmi- 
ties, requested, in 
a note to the Sec- 
retary of War, to 
be relieved of his 
high command, and 
now onerous duties. 
With every demon- 
stration of respect 
from the President, 
and a special Cab- 
inet council, his 
request was com- 
plied with. Gen. G. 

GENERAL GEORGE B. McCLELLAN. B. McClellaU waS 

thereupon appointed to succeed him as commander-in-chief of the armies 
of the United States. 

Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, now in command at Cairo, made a demonstration 
on Belmont, in Missouri, a landing-place on the Mississippi River, opposite 
to Columbus, Ky., and the headquarters of the Secession force opposed to 
Cairo. In Belmont, which was connected by a ferry with Columbus, was 




268 OUTBREAK OF THE GREAT CIVIL WAR. 

a camp, which Grant took with its munitions ; having at the time drawn 
off the attention of the Confederates by a feigned attack on Columbus, 
which he had ordered from Paducah. Before Grant had withdrawn his 
men, however, superior forces under General Polk and General Pillow 
attacked them ; and, though in the desperate fighting which ensued, their 
valor won them honor, they could not claim the victory. 

An important expedition left Hampton Roads on the 29th of October, 
under Commodore Dupont, with a fleet of sixty ships, bearing a land-force 
of 10,000, under the command of Gen. W. T. Sherman. Their destination 
was Port Royal and Hilton Head, on the coast of South Carolina. On the 
7th of November they attacked the two new forts. Walker and Beauregard, 
commanding the entrance of Port Royal ; and here the ships, by skillful 
firing and manoeuvring, in four hours performed an extraordinary feat, 
proving that moving water-craft can defeat and silence stationary forts. On 
landing, forty-three heavy cannon were seized, but the garrison escaped. 
The adjoining sea-islands, so fruitful in the best of cotton, were thus com- 
manded by the Unionists, who encouraged the negroes to remain and 
cultivate them. Beaufort was soon after occupied. 

Imraense Army in the Field. 

At the assembling of Congress early in December, the reports of the 
Secretaries showed that the government had in service 682,000 soldiers, and 
22,000 seamen and marines. These had mostly been raised by voluntary 
enlistment, excited by large bounties and high pa}^ ; but the expense was 
appalling. A popular loan system was ingeniously devised by the able 
Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase. 

The entire force of the Confederates at this time was estimated at 
350,000. Their funds were raised by loans from enthusiastic friends, and 
by Confederate bills representing money, and at first answering its purpose ; 
but, like the Continental money of the Revolution, continually dimin- 
ishing in value. 

Gen. George H. Thomas, encountered, near Mill Springs, in South- 
eastern Kentucky, the Confederate Generals ZoUikoffer and Crittenden, and 
gained a victory ; for which he received the thanks of the President, — com- 
municated by Edwin M. Stanton, now Secretary of War, in place of Simon 
Cameron, resigned. In this battle General ZoUikoffer was killed. 

On the 2d of Februar}^, General Grant sailed from Cairo, with Com- 



OUTBREAK OF THE GREAT CIVIL WAR. 269 

modore Foote commanding a fleet of gunboats and transports. Entering 
the Tennessee River at Paducah, tHey proceeded to Fort Henry, near the 
southern border of Kentucky, which, after a short, but earnest, resistance, 
was evacuated and taken. The expedition proceeded as far as Florence, at 
the foot of the muscle-shoals, in Alabama. 

This unexpected appearance of the old Union flag was hailed by the 
loyalists, not unfrequently, with tears of joy. Twelve miles east, on the 
Cumberland River, lay the formidable fortress of Fort Donelson, garrisoned 
by 15,000 men, which Grant resolved to attack. The gunboats ^vere to 
co-operate on their return from Florence. Grant, meantime, marched across 
the country, and, at the head of 15,000 troops, proceeded to invest the 
stronghold. Unfortunately, a brave, but premature, attack was made on 
the works by a portion of the army under Gen. Lewis Wallace. On the 
arrival of the gunboats, Foote at once ran his iron-clad steamers close to 
the batteries, from which, however, they received so deadly a fire, that his 
flag-ship and ten others were disabled. He withdrew with the loss of fifty- 
four men killed and wounded. 

Capture of Fort Donelson. 

The attack by water having failed. Grant besieged the fort, hoping 
the further co-operation of the boats. General Floyd, commander of the 
garrison, attempted now to retreat to Nashville ; but was attacked by Grant's 
army, and, after a bloody battle, with severe loss on both sides. Fort Donelson 
was surrendered. Floyd and Pillow having fled with a brigade up the 
river, the formalities of surrender were enacted by General Buckner, the 
third in command. Nashville was now open to the Unionists, and was 
occupied by them within a week. 

Columbus, after the fall of the forts, was abandoned by the Confed- 
erates, after first moving what they could of their guns and munitions 
further down the river, to Island No. 10, a few miles above New Madrid. 
On the 3d of March, a body of Union cavalry entered Columbus, and 
hoisted the national flag. 

On the 12th of January, there sailed from Hampton Roads, under 
Commodore Goldsborough, a fleet of 100 vessels of all classes, bearing land 
forces under General Burnside : they were destined to take Roanoke Island, 
on the coast of North Carolina. This spot, lying between Albemarle and 
Pamlico Sounds, commanded their seashore, and had been strongly fortified 



270 OUTBREAK OF THE GREAT CIVIL WAR. 

witH two new forts, bearing forty-three gnns, and garrisoned by 3,000 men. 
The invaders made their entrance into the inner waters at Hatteras Inlet, 
the same as in the former expedition; but a storm of terrible length and 
violence delayed them, and it was not until the 3d of February that the 
attack on the forts could be begun. Colonel Shaw, their commandant, 
resisted bravely till the evening of the 5tli, when he surrendered. A small 
fleet of gunboats, under Commodore Lynch, had aided the forts, but now 
withdrew to Klizabeth City, to which place the Union vessels pursued 
them : they were all destroyed but two, which escaped up the Dismal 
Swamp Canal. In an attack on Fort BlaTichard, Colonel Russell, of Con- 
necticut, was killed; and, on the Confederate side, Capt. O. J. Wise, son 
of the ex-governor of Virginia, lost his life. 

Bloody Battle of Pea Ridge. 

In Missouri, after Fremont and Hunter had retired, General Halleck, 
who succeeded in command, had by judicious military operations driven 
Price across the State line into Arkansas. General Curtiss co-operated — 
while Price was joined by Generals Van Dorn and McCuUoch, the former 
in command of a Confederate force said now to be 30,000 strong. Here 
the bloody battle of Pea Ridge occurred, lasting two days. On the first 
day the Confederates had the advantage; but on the second the valor and 
conduct of the German General Sigel turned the fortunes of the field. The 
Confederates were defeated, and two Generals, McCulloch and Mcintosh, 
were killed. On the same day as the battle of Pea Ridge occurred the 
wonderful affair of the ram '' Merrimac." 

In no particular did the American war attract attention throughout 
the civilized world more than in the changes in naval warfare brought 
about by the iron-coating of vessels, making them impenetrable to shot. 
The Confederates had thus iron-plated the sides, and made roof-like the 
top of the old U. S. steam frigate " Merrimac," and had fastened to the 
bow an immense iron prong. 

Its destructive powers were appreciated. The Union Navy Department, 
as well as several patriotic individuals, encouraged Mr. Bricsson, a Swede, 
in a plan which he had invented of a steam water-craft to meet this ram 
" Merrimac.'' On the morning of March 8 it was seen advancing upon 
the Union fleet in Hampton Roads. Regardless of terrific broadsides, the 
ram steered directly up to the frigate "Cumberland," struck her with the 



OUTBREAK OF THE GREAT CIVIL WAR. 



271 



iron prong, and beat a large hole in lier side. She sank, and half her 
crew were lost. The "Merrimac" next sought the frigate "Congress," 
which struck her colors, and at night was burned. Another frigate, the 
"Minnesota," had run aground, and the "Merrimac" rested. Amazement and 
dread sat on every countenance ; was the whole navy to be thus destroyed ? 
The next morning — so had Providence ordered — the little Ericsson 
battery, called a "Monitor," appeared, commanded by Lieutenant Worden. 




IRON-CLAD GUNBOAT. 

She seemed like a small raft, with a revolving turret, in which were two 
enormous guns. As the "Merrimac" approached to assault the "Minne- 
sota," this little craft closed with her in a deadly conflict which lasted 
several hours. The "Merrimac" was finally obliged to succumb, and drew 
off totally disabled, never again to renew the conflict. 

In abandoning Columbus, the Confederates had made a stand at Island 
No. 10, in the Mississippi River, four miles above New Madrid. To take 
this island General Pope was sent by General Halleck with a land force, 
to co-operate with Commodore Foote with a fleet of gunboats, prepared at 



272 OUTBREAK OF THE GREAT CIVIL WAR 

Cairo for this purpose. A memorable event occurred in the capture of 
this island; this was the cutting of a channel twelve miles long, through 
a part of which Colonel Bissell, of the engineer corps, had to employ his 
men in sawing off large trees four feet under water. Through this channel 
a part of the army of General Pope were moved to New Madrid, and thus 
the island, invested from above and below, was besieged for three weeks. 

Commodore Foote then determined, despite a hostile fleet, on running 
the gunboats past the forts on the island. The iron-clad steamer "Caron- 
delet,'' Captain Walke, was selected, and in a thunder-storm on the night 
of the 5th of April she accomplished the perilous success. The remainder 
of the fleet followed on the succeeding night, and debarked a land force. 
The Confederates at once, and without a conflict, evacuated the island. 
General W. D. McCall surrendered 5,000 soldiers, a great quantity of 
ammunition, tents, horses, etc., with more than 200 cannon. 

Surrender of Memphis. 

Some of their vessels the Confederates sank, but the larger part fell 
down the river to their next fortified point, which was Fort Pillow. There 
occurred severe naval fighting under Commodore Davis, to whom Foote 
had given over the command; but it was evacuated finally on the 4th of 
June. On the 5tli Commodore Davis assaulted the Confederate fleet in the 
harbor of Memphis, and after a fierce battle (there being iron-clad rams) 
victory remained with the Unionists, and Memphis, the largest city on the 
Mississippi between St. Louis and New Orleans, was now surrendered to 
the naval power of the Union. 

The Confederate array in the Southwest was under the command of 
General Beauregard and General A. S. Johnston, and was encamped at 
Corinth, in Mississippi, near the Tennessee line. General Grant, intending 
to attack as soon as reinforcements under General Buell should arrive, had 
arranged his army at Pittsburg Landing, in Tennessee, on the west side 
of the Tennessee River, and twenty miles from Corinth. The three 
divisions of his army under Sherman, McClernand and Prentiss, were 
the most advanced. 

To attack this army before it was reinforced, Beauregard and Johnston 
had urged forward their forces in three divisions, under Generals Hardee, 
Bragg and Polk. Leaving Corinth on the 4th, they had hoped to arrive 
on the 5th, but were delayed until early on the morning of the 6th. Their 



OUTBREAK OF THE GREAT CIVIL WAR, 



273 



attack was so spirited, and so little expected, that at first the advanced 
Union divisions were thrown into great confusion. The soldiers were 
driven from their camps, and some, never having been in battle, fled like 
cowards. The officers made desperate efibrts to rally the fugitives, and to 
form and direct regiments that stood firm. 

Sherman was twice wounded, and had three horses killed under him. 
The Confederates, 
on their side, fought 
with great bravery, 
and were managed 
with much skill. 
Johnston fell, and 
the sole command 
now devolved upon 
Beauregard. The 
Unionists, on the 
first day of this 
great battle, were 
driven a mile and 
a half from their 
camps on the high 
ground, where the 
small church of 
Shiloh stood, to the 
low banks of the 
river. 

Here Colonel 
Webster had found 
cannon sufficient 
for a powerful bat- 
tery, and when the 
Confederates had 
formed for a final general w. t. sherman. 

' effiDrt, he opened it upon them with prodigious effect. At the same time 
two gunboats, lying in the river, had, by putting into the mouth of a small 
stream, found a gap through which they could reach them with shells, and 
thus, just at night, they were obliged to fall back to the camps. 

18 




274 OUTBREAK OF THE GREAT CIVIL WAR. 

Thus the Union army were preserved from destruction, and, knowing 
that help was near, they rested on the bloody field, confident of regaining 
their losses the next day. The army of General Buell had, by General 
Grant, been hurried on, and arriving on the opposite bank of the Ten- 
nessee, they were ferried over that river during the dark and rainy 
night, and were ready at morning to aid those who the day before had 
fought so desperately. History makes mention of few battles fought on 
both sides with more courage and militar}^ skill than brother Americans 
here displayed in destroying each other. Success fluctuated, but finally 
the Unionists regained their lost guns and camps, and the Confederates 
retired, but they did so without confusion and in good order. 

Great Losses of both Armies. 

General Beauregard, during the night, drew off the remains of his 
army, and directed his course to Corinth. He sent to General Grant for 
permission to bury his dead, and also that some who had lost friends 
might be allowed to seek for them. General Grant replied that he had 
already caused all who had fallen to be buried. Strewn upon the bloody 
field had lain 10,000 dead, and twice that number wounded, a destruction 
far exceeding that of any other battle ever before fought within the limits 
of Republican America. 

General Halleck now arrived. By his rank he superseded in command 
both Grant and Buell. He moved his array nearer to Corinth, and General 
Grant urged, though vainly, an immediate attack. On the 29th of April 
General Beauregard, not feeling strong enough to meet so large a force, aban- 
doned his encampment, taking away all his guns, and removing or destroying 
his munitions. On the 23d of July General Halleck (General McClellan's com- 
mand being confined to the Army of the Potomac) was made General-in-chief, 
and ordered to Washington, the army being sent in different directions. 




CHAPTER XXVI. 

CAMPAIGNS OF McCLELLAN AND LEE. 

)E go back in the order of time. The attention of republican 
America was now fixed on the main Union army concentrated 
near Washington, and to be employed against Richmond by 
McClellan, This army was kept back inactive till the middle 
of March, in order, says General McClellan, to be disciplined,, 
formed, and instructed, and a formidable artillery to be created ; and, while 
other armies were first to move and accomplish certain results, this one 
might then give the death-blow to the rebellion. 

Previous to this period. General McClellan had ordered movements, as 
commander-in-chief, extending over the whole country. Afterwards his 
command was cut down to the army of the Potomac ; and parts of that 
army, which were to co-operate with him, were directed to other objects. 
Concerning no other officer of the war has the country been so divided 
in its opinion. 

It was on the 17th of March, 1862, that McClellan began embarking 
from Alexandria the main portion of his army, amounting to 85,000 men, 
in transports, for Fortress Monroe, where they debarked about the 1st of 
April. On the 4th he received an astounding report from the War Depart- 
ment at Washington, that parts of the army whose co-operation, under 
General Banks and McDowell, he was to have received by a direct route as 
he approached Richmond, were to be diverted to other objects. 

He obtained, however, an increase of his force of 11,000 men, sent by 
General Franklin from McDowell's corps, and he made such representations 
at Washington, that he continued to advance with the strong hope that the 
original plan of the campaign might yet be carried out. General Joseph B- 
Johnston was in command of the Confederate militar}^ operations ; but the 
engineering skill of General Robert B. Lee had planned their great system 
of defence. General McClellan marched twenty miles to besiege Yorktown, 
in a violent rain over a miry road. 

The siege was memorable for the military skill displayed on both 

275 



276 CAMPAIGNS OF McCLELLAN AND LEE. 

sides. At length, when McClellan was about to storm the works, the 
Confederates abandoned their stronghold, and on the night of the 4th of 
May silently withdrew. Gloucester, on the opposite side of York River, fell 
with Yorktown, and its guns and munitions also helped to increase the ' 
stores of the Unionists. 

General McClellan, on the morning of the 5th, ordered forward in 
pursuit cavalry and horse artillery, under General Stoneman. This led to 
the battle of Williamsburg. The pursuing party encountered a severe 
attack amidst rain and mire, and fought with determined bravery — Stoneman 
being relieved by Hooker, and he, after hours of fighting, by Kearney. 
Hancock had meantime flanked the Confederates, when they withdrew and 
evacuated Williamsburg, their policy being to delay the advance of their 
enemy, and thus gain time to perfect the defences of Richmond. 

Military Operations at Norfolk. 

Meantime General Wool, having obtained, during a visit of President 
Lincoln to him at Fortress Monroe, his consent for capturing Norfolk, 
marched to the assault at the head of 5000 men; but when he arrived at the 
fortified camp of General Huger, the Confederate commander, he found it 
had been evacuated. 

Citizens of Norfolk surrendered the city to General Wool. Huger had 
taken away or destroyed all the guns and munitions possible. The dreaded 
" Merrimac " still lay at Craney Island ; but the next day after General 
Wool's arrival, her commander blew her up. A naval expedition was now 
set on foot by Commodore Goldsborough, to go up the James River, and 
co-operate with General McClellan. The vessels, among which was the 
"Monitor," assaulted Fort Darling, seven miles from Richmond; but, after 
an unsuccessful engagement, the attempt failed. 

General McClellan advanced; and, on the 15th of May, his army was 
at the White House, a point where the Pamunky branch of the York River 
is intersected by a railroad from West Point to Richmond, it being under- 
stood that his supplies were to be sent to the White House by the way of 
the Potomac, Chesapeake Bay, and James River. 

The confidence in the co-operation of McDowell, with which McClellan 
had undertaken the capture of Richmond, had been shaken, but was renewed; 
and he went forward, confidently expecting his arrival from the North, his 
headquarters being at Fredericksburg. Learning that a Confederate force 



iiiiii 



lilli'f" 



X 



^Bf 



if^fer^ 




© iLt^ L. ^ E 



i \L. 



CAMPAIGNS OF McCLELLAN AND LEE. 



277 



was at Hanover Court House, tlirough which McDowell must pass, McCIellan, 
on the 27th, detached a force under General Fitz-John Porter, when, after 
a march of fourteen miles, and a spirited engagement, the Confederates were 
driven from the field, and the way for the expected advance opened ; and 
McClellan's last 
orders at night 
were, that McDow- 
ell's signals were 
to be listened for, 
and without a mo- 
ment's delay re- 
ported to him. But 
those signals were 
never made. 

General Mc- 
Dowell, much to 
his discontent, was 
recalled by Presi- 
dent Lincoln to 
guard Washing- 
ton, which was 
threatened by the 
Confederates, led 
by Stonewall Jack- 
son, who, in the 
Valley of the Shen- 
andoah, had over- 
come the Union 
forces under Gen- 
erals Milroy, Fre- 
mont, and Banks, general t. j. (stonewall) jackson. 

in sanguinary battles fought at Front Royal, Kernestown, and Winchester. 
On the 25th of May, General McCIellan began crossing his army over 
the Chickahominy, at Bottom's Bridge, ten miles from Richmond. But a 
violent storm so raised the river as to destro}^ his new bridges before his 
army had completely crossed them. As the storm cleared away, on the 
29th, the Confederates discovered that the army was thus divided by the 




278 CAMPAIGNS OF McCLELLAN AND LEE. 

river; and, taking advantage of this, tliey attacked, on the 31st, at noon, 
with great fury. 

Some of the front ranks, seized with panic, fled, while their officers 
vainly sought to rally them ; but other and firmer spirits taking their places, 
the day was recovered, and closed with almost the whole field in posses- 
sion of the Unionists. The Confederates, trusting to regain the battle, 
renewed it the next morning ; but McClellan's army were now prepared, 
and the fight resulted in a Union victory. The carnage had been great on 
both sides. Joseph B. Johnston was carried from, the field severely wounded, 
and General Robert E. Lee was appointed to succeed him. 

Severe Engagements in Virginia. 

General (Stonewall) Jackson, the hero of the Valley, pursued Banks to 
the Potomac, and entered Harper's Ferry. His advance, so sudden and 
unexpected, had spread consternation. The President, as we have seen, 
recalled McDowell to the defence of Washington, thus defeating the plans 
of McClellan. The Secretary of War called on Northern Governors for 
troops. Jackson received, at Harper's Ferry, intelligence that Shields, sent 
by McDowell from Fredericksburg, and Fremont coming from the South 
branch of the Potomac, were moving to form a junction at Strasburg, in 
his rear; but Jackson, with his wonted celerity, had passed Strasburg before 
Fremont and Shields arrived. 

They pursued him along the passes of the mountains, but could not 
bring him to a stand, his rear being guarded by cavalry, commanded by 
that wonderful cavalry officer. Colonel Ashby, who died fighting, near Har- 
risonburg, before Jackson reached Port Republic. Here Jackson determined 
to make a stand, believing that the two pursuing armies were so situated 
that they might be fought separately, and defeated in detail; and in the 
■event so it proved. A sanguinary battle was fought on the 8th and 9th of 
June, in which the Unionists were defeated. Jackson, with his remaining 
army, backed through a mountain pass, and joined Lee at Richmond. He 
Jhad received from him an order, which his messenger delivered, directed to 
Stonewall Jackson, somewhere. 

After the first battle of Fair Oaks, McClellan had occupied his army 
for more than three weeks in constructing intrenchments, which extended 
twelve miles east and northeast of Richmond, on both sides of the Chicka- 
hominy, the nearest point being five miles distant. 



CAMPAIGNS OF McCLELLAN AND LEE. 279 

On tlie otlier hand, Lee and his assistants had intrenched Richmond 
by all the improved methods of modern art. McClellan was meantime 
urging on Mr. Lincoln and General Halleck, who had been called to 
Washington as commander-in-chief, the necessity of more troops to enable 
him to take Richmond. 

The Confederate leader was watching him. He sent General Stuart, 
his able cavalry commander, who rode quite around McClellan's camp, and 
had discovered one unguarded point. Lee had meantime found means to 
summon Stonewall Jackson from the valley, and was now fully ready to 
commence the memorable seven days fighting. This was begun on the 26th 
of June, at "Fair Oaks" or "Seven Pines," the two adjoining stations nearest 
the city. McClellan pushed his left wing towards Richmond, and after a 
day's hard fighting, succeeded in gaining a mile. In the meantime Stone- 
wall Jackson had been sent by Lee with a strong force to penetrate the 
centre of the Union army at the unguarded point, and thus, by a flank 
movement, divide the right wing from the left. 

Severe Fighting and Dreadful Carnage. 

General Lee co-operated by attacking the left wing in front. This was 
on the 2Tth, at Mechanicsville. Meantime, three miles east, Jackson, after 
a detour, had made a fearful attack. McClellan prevented the capture of 
his whole left wing by immediately ordering his forces to retreat from 
Mechanicsville. Severe was the fighting, and dreadful the carnage. The 
Confederates were victorious, but they did not accomplish their purpose of 
dividing the army, though they caused McClellan to abandon his fortifica- 
tions on the left bank of the Chickahominy, and cut him off from his 
base of supplies. 

Anticipating that such might be the case, he had prepared for the 
emergency, and so succeeded in masking his intentions that the Confed- 
erates found little spoil at the White House ; the stores and munitions 
having been brought in wagons to his camp, or embarked in transports to 
be sent up the James River, to which McClellan now directed the march of 
his army. He succeeded in safely conducting his long train of supplies, 
and finally saving his hard-pressed and diminished army — marching by 
night and fighting by day. 

At Malvern Hill was the last battle, and it was one of the most 
sanguinary of the war. From the 26th of June to the 1st of July, inclusive, 



280 



CAMPAIGNS OF McCLELLAN AND LEE. 



the army of tlie Potomac lost 15,249 men. The army embarked at Harrison's 
Landing, on James River, and was at length removed by water to the 
vicinity of Alexandria. 

New Orleans was then the second city in the United States in a com- 
mercial and mili- 
tary view — the 
most important 
in the Confeder- 
acy. Plans for 
its capture were 
early set on foot. 
Captain David G. 
Farragut, of the 
navy, was select- 
ed to prepare for 
the expedition 
and command the 
naval force, with 
General B.F.But- 
ler to lead the 
land army. Cap- 
tain Farragut was 
a native of Ten- 
nessee, and at the 
age of fourteen 
years had distin- 
guished himself 
as a midshipman 
on board the frig- 
ate Essex, Com- 
modore Porter, 

COMMODORE DAVID G. FARRAGUT. iu the bloodicst 

naval battle in the last war with England. At the opening of the Civil 
War he left his home in Norfolk, Va , took his family to New York, and 
hastened to Washington to offer his services to his country. 

Captain Farragut sailed from Hampton Roads February 3d, with a fleet 
of forty-six vessels (including mortar-boats, under Commodore Porter), the 




CAMPAIGNS OF McCLELLAN AND LEE. 281 

whole bearing three hundred guns of different descriptions. As a prelimi- 
nary measure, General Butler had already sent Brigadier-General John W. 
Phelps, of Vermont, to occupy Ship Island, lying off the southern coast of 
the Mississippi. The fleet arrived at Ship Island the 20th of February, 
and after making a reconnoissance, Captain Farragut decided to enter the 
Mississippi through its mouths, or "passes," knowing that after ascending 
twenty-five miles he would find on opposite sides of the river the two 
strong forts, Jackson (the stronger), and Fort Philip, seventy-five miles 
from the city of New Orleans. 

The Confederate Fleet Captured by Farragut. 

On entering the river, the bars at the mouth detained the fleet, but 
they were all passed by the 5th of April. The Confederate fleet, long 
sheltered under the guns of the forts, was commanded by Commodore G. N. 
Hollins, and consisted of thirteen gunboats, and two powerful iron-clad 
steamers. A formidable chain was also extended from one fort to the other. 
So confident were the newspapers of the city in the sufficiency of their 
defences, that they published, "Our only fear is that our Northern invaders 
will not appear." 

On the 18th of April, the bombardment opened, the mortar vessels 
taking the lead, and each throwing a shell once in ten minutes. The}^ 
were answered by the 225 guns of the forts, and the fire of the Confederate 
fleet. Five ships, cotton loaded, were sent down from New Orleans to mingle 
with, and set fire to the Union fleet. They did no harm. The bombard- 
ment of the forts continued five days. Then Commodore Farragut succeeded 
in breaking the boom, or chain, across the river. 

After a fierce conflict with the Confederate fleet, in which one of the 
Federal ships, the "Varuna," Captain Boggs, sunk or disabled five Confed- 
erate vessels, and was then run ashore in a sinking condition. Captain 
Farragut destroyed or captured the Confederate fleet. The forts were passed, 
and Commodore Porter was left, with the transports and a part of the 
fleet, to reduce them. They were silenced, and were surrendered on the 
27th of April. 

Captain Farragut next proceeded, with nine vessels, to New Orleans, 
meeting burning vessels loaded with cotton, and other evidences of the 
destruction to which the Confederates had subjected their propert}^, rather 
than that it should fall into Union hands. 



282 CAMPAIGNS OF McCLELLAN AND LEE. 

On the 26th Captain Farragut addressed a letter to Mayor Monroe, 
requesting him, since General Lovell, the military commander, had disap- 
peared, to see that no flag but that of the United States should be permitted 
to fly in the presence of the fleet; and he particularly requested the mayor 
to see that there be no firing upon women and children for expressing 
pleasure at witnessing the old flag. Mayor Monroe answered him, " that 
the city was his ' by brutal force ; ' but as to his hoisting any flag not of 
their own adoption or allegiance, there lives not a man in our midst whose 
hand and heart would not be paralj^zed at the mere thought of such an act." 

Insult to United States Officers. 

Captain Farragut, in answer, said, that not only was the flag of 
Louisiana still flying, but those officers whom he had sent to hoist the flag 
of the United States over the mint were grossly insulted, and he therefore 
requests that women and children be removed previous to his vindicating 
the honor of his government by shelling the city. The mayor refused, and 
the captain happily did not fulfil his threat. He left the command to 
General Butler, who landed on the 1st of May. Farragut was afterwards 
promoted to the rank of Commodore. 

The results of the expedition were the opening of the Mississippi to 
Natchez, the capture of New Orleans and Baton Rouge, and the occupation 
of a large part of the State of Louisiana. 

The troops operating in Northern Virginia under Generals McDowell, 
Fremont, and Banks, were all combined in one army under Major-General 
Pope. He took the field on July 11th, his forces being stationed at Cul- 
pepper and Fredericksburg. The withdrawal of General McClellan's army 
from the Peninsula had left General Lee to direct all his forces against 
General Pope. By the 1st of August the Confederates were in motion, 
marching northward — intending to invade Maryland, and capture Washington 
and Baltimore. The plan of the campaign was to fall upon and crush the 
forces of General Pope before any part of General McClellan's army could 
be brought to his support. 

The first conflict occurred at Cedar Mountain, where General Banks 
met and repulsed the advance of General Lee. General Pope, however, being 
unable to check the superior force brought against him, retired behind the' 
Rapidan. Here he was attacked, but maintained his position, and compelled 
General Lee to move higher up, and seek a pass through the Bull Run 



CAMPAIGNS OF McCLELLAN AND LEE. 283 

mountains. In the meantime, Stuart's cavalry got into Pope's rear, and 
captured several trains, and made many prisoners. Before General Lee 
could strike General Pope, a part of McClellan's army had arrived, and a 
severe battle was fought on the plains of Manassas, and another at Chan- 
tilly, in both of which General Pope was defeated. In the latter the Union 
Generals Stevens and Kearney were killed. The army was drawn into the 
defences at Washington. General Pope's losses in this campaign were 
estimated at 15,000 to 20,000. 

The way was now open to General Lee either to attack Washington 
or invade Maryland. He chose the latter, and crossed the Potomac near 
Point of Rocks. He advanced as far as Frederick, where, on the 8th, he 
issued an address to the people, inviting them to join his standard. 

The Battle of Antietam. 

When General McClellan arrived in Washington he was within General 
Pope's department, and without a command. By direction of the President 
he was ordered to assume command of all the troops for the defence of 
the capital. He took measures immediately to check General Lee. By 
the 9th of September his army was within sixteen miles of Frederick, and 
so posted to command all the lower fords of the Potomac. As soon as Lee 
heard of the approach of McClellan he withdrew from Frederick, and took 
a strong position at South Mountain. At the same time he dispatched 
Stonewall Jackson with 25,000 men to capture Harper's Ferry, and after- 
wards to rejoin him. 

General McClellan overtook Lee at South Mountain, and at once 
assaulted his position. The battle raged all the afternoon, when the Con- 
federates were driven from their ground, and retreated to a position behind 
Antietam Creek. The Federal army occupied the battle-ground. 

The Federal forces at Harper's Ferry numbered 13,000, commanded by 
Colonel Miles. The place was not fortified, and was not, perhaps, defensible. 
Colonel Miles surrendered, without any effort at defence or escape. The 
consequences were disastrous. If he had held the place even for a day or 
two he would have prevented the junction of Jackson and Lee at Antietam. 

General McClellan pushed on his troops in pursuit cf Lee, and attacked 
him at Antietam. The battle began early in the morning, and raged all 
day. Attack and defence were obstinate on both sides ; the ground was 
.alternately lost and won, and nightfall left both armies on the field of 



284 



CAMPAIGNS OF McCLELLAN AND LEE. 



battle, apparently ready to resume the contest in the morning. General 
McClellan being the attacking party, and having won some points of the 
Confederate position, had the advantage. But he did not deem it prudent 
to renew the attack the next day, and during the night General Lee 
abandoned the field, recrossed the Potomac, and gave up all hopes of 
remaining in Maryland. The Confederate loss in this campaign is sup- 
posed to have reached thirty thousand. The Union losses, including the 
surrender at Harper's Ferry, must have been much larger. 

General McClellan, after the 
battle of Antietam, lay encamped on 
the north bank of the Potomac, in 
the vicinity of Sharpsburgh and Har- 
per's Ferry, until September 26th, 
when the cavalry under Pleasan- 
ton, with General Burnside's corps, 
crossed into Virginia. While so en- 
camped the Confederate General 
Stuart again appeared at Chambers- 
burg with 1,800 cavalry, and, making 
the entire circuit of McClellan's 
army, re-entered Virginia at Con- 
rad's Ferry, six miles below the 
mouth of the Monocacy. He burned 
government store-houses and ma- 
chine shops, and carried off 1,000 
horses. All attempts to intercept 
him failed. The delay of McClellan dissatisfied the Government. The 
army was in good condition and good spirits, and was steadily advancing 
and pressing the Confederates before it. On the 7tli General McClellan 
was ordered to turn over his command to General Burnside, and await 
further orders at Trenton, New Jersey. 

General Burnside did not seek the command. He had refused it 
twice, and expressed the opinion which many held, that McClellan ought 
to be retained. He accepted only under peremptory orders from his 
superiors. He took command November 10, and moved the army rapidly 
towards Fredericksburg. He had hoped to cross and occupy the heights 
around the city before General Lee could reach them. The pontoons, by 




GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE. 



CAMPAIGNS OF McCLELLAN AND LEE. 285 

which he expected to cross the river, did not leave Alexandria until two 
days after he had arrived at Falmouth, nor until Lee had occupied the 
heights of Fredericksburg. 

During the 11th and 12th General Burnside threw bridges over the 
river, and his army crossed and occupied the city. The next day was 
spent in disposing his forces for an attack upon Lee's position, which 
extended in a semicircle from Point Royal to a point six miles above the 
city, and consisted of two rows of batteries, one a mile in rear of the other, 
and both overlooking the city. On the morning of the 13th General 
Burnside ordered the assault. His left wing was commanded by General 
Franklin, who endeavored to take a battery, but was repulsed. He then 
attempted to turn the right of Lee's position, and gained nearly a mile, 
which was the only success of the day. 

Driven Back by a Storm of Shot and Shell. 

General Sumner on the right, and General Hooker in the centre, 
made three attempts to scale the heights, but so deadly was the storm of 
shot and shell that they did not reach the first line of the Confederate 
position. The Federal dead and wounded lay where they fell, and could 
not be brought off. General Burnside ordered his army to recross the 
river on the night of the 15th, which was done without molestation from 
Lee. It was a bloody and fruitless battle, if battle it can be called, when 
one army, secure in its intrenchments, deliberately shoots down another, 
led out into the open field helpless and shelterless. 

The Confederate loss was very small, while the Union loss was 1,138 
killed, 9,105 wounded, and 2,078 missing, a total of 12,321. General Burn- 
side retained command until January 2G, 1863, when at his own request, 
he was relieved, and General Joseph Hooker was appointed to succeed him. 

After the battle of Shiloh, General Beauregard retired to his strong 
position at Corinth. General Halleck prepared to attack him by regular 
siege approaches. The Confederates did not wait for an assault, but, keeping 
up a show of strength in front, quietly withdrew, with nearly all their 
material, into Alabama and Georgia. General Halleck returned to St. 
Louis, leaving General Buell in command. The war was transferred to 
Middle Tennessee and Kentucky, and the Federal army was rapidly 
marched there, to meet the advances of General Kirby Smith and General 
Bragg from Chattanooga, northward, threatening Nashville and Louisville. 



286 CAMPAIGNS OF McCLELLAN AND LEE. 

Smith drove before him small detachments of Unionists through Cumber- 
land Gap. Sharp encounters occurred between the cavalry of the two 
armies, but Bragg's march could not be checked. 

Buell fell back from Murfreesborough and from Nashville, reaching 
Louisville September 25th. Buell advised the evacuation of Nashville, but 
the military governor, Andrew Johnson, remonstrated so strongly against 
it, that it was decided to hold it. Bragg, detaching a force to attempt 
Nashville, pushed on towards Louisville, occupying Mumfordsville Septem- 
ber 17th. While Buell was collecting his troops at Louisville, an order 
came from Washington that Major-General George H. Thomas should 
supersede Buell, but, by his advice. General Buell was retained, with 
General Thomas second in command. 

Generals Price and Van Dorn, having crossed the Mississippi, at the 
head of a large force, too late to join Beauregard, advanced against Corinth, 
Miss., where General Rosecrans was stationed. A sharp battle was fought 
at luka, September 19th. General Price attempted to storm the Federal 
works without success. During the night he withdrew. Joining Van Dorn, 
their united forces fell upon Corinth October 4th ; after a fierce conflict of 
three hours, the Confederates were repulsed. In the two battles Rosecrans 
lost 2,600 men. He captured 2,268 soldiers, 3,000 stand of small arms, and 
many guns. He estimated the Confederate loss at 8,800 men. 

Furious Onset on the Union Lines. 

On the 1st of October, Buell resumed operations, moving one division 
of his army towards Frankfort, and the other three towards Bardstown. 
On the morning of the 8th, the Confederates were found strongly posted 
at Perrysville, and a brisk engagement occurred, the contest being for pos- 
session of a commanding position, covering some pools of water, for which 
the Federal army had been suffering three days. During the day, Bragg 
made a furious onset on the Federal lines, and at first gained a decided 
advantage, but, re-enforcements coming up, the Confederates were repulsed, 
and driven back through the town to their first position. Darkness ter- 
minated the conflict. Only two divisions of the Federal army had been 
engaged. The arrival of a third induced General Bragg to retreat, which 
he did during the night, in good order. Among the Union killed were 
Generals Terrell and Jackson. The Confederate loss is not known. 

General Buell pursued Bragg as far as Bowling Green and Glasgow, 



CAMPAIGNS OF McCLELLAN AND LEE. 287 

Kentucky, where he remained until the 27th, when he was superseded by 
Gen. William S. Rosecrans. Bragg had concentrated his army at Mur- 
freesborough, having in his advance captured an immense booty, consisting 
of cattle, clothing, bacon, grain, and arms, which he took safely off in his 
retreat. Rosecrans reached Nashville November 7th, and remained there 
until December 26th, the time being actively spent in repairing the railroad 
to Louisville, and in bringing forward supplies. Bragg having sent a large 
cavalry force into Tennessee, and another into Kentucky, the occasion was 
seized to attack him. 

Forward Movement of Rosecrans. 

The movement began December 26th, and by the 30th, the army was con- 
centrated in the vicinity of Stone River. McCook commanded the right wing, 
Thomas the centre, and Crittenden the left. The plan was to turn the Confed- 
erate right, but Bragg began the fight by an early and furious onslaught upon 
the right of Rosecrans. The Union forces were driven from their position, 
and were only saved from defeat by the strenuous exertions of their general, 
who rallied them late in the da^^, and, forming a new line, repulsed the 
Confederates. The next day was spent in feeling each other's lines. On 
the morning of January 2d, Bragg opened a heavy fire of artillery upon 
Rosecrans' centre. It was soon silenced by a return fire, and, for a time, 
the combat ceased. 

Rosecrans pushed a division across Stone River, taking a strong posi- 
tion. About three o'clock p.m., the Confederates fell upon it, and drove it 
back, pursuing closely. But a terrible fire of artillery, followed by a charge 
of infantry, drove them in disorder across the river. Darkness and a chill 
winter rain closed the day, and prevented pursuit. The rain fell all the 
next day. On the night of the 3d, General Bragg evacuated Murfrees- 
borough, and General Rosecrans entered it on the 5th. Rosecrans had 
43,400 men, of whom he lost 1,538 killed, 7,245 wounded, and 2,800 missing 
a total of 11,578. Bragg's army was estimated at 62,490, and his total 
loss at 14,560. 

An Indian massacre in Minnesota added to the horrors of the Civil 
War. The first disturbance, August 17th, was b}^ four drunken Indians, 
near Red Wood, who, after an altercation with each other, killed several 
white men. The next day, between 250 and 300 Indians, led by their 
chief, Little Crow, attacked the agency at Little Medicine, and slaughtered 



288 CAMPAIGNS OF McCLELLAN AND LEE. 

all the whites. Then they spread themselves throughout all the western 
part of the State and into Dakota, burning and plundering isolated and 
defenceless farm-houses, murdering men, women, and children, thus renewing 
all the atrocities that marked the Indian wars of our early history. Colonel 
Schley held them in check, until at length General Pope was sent with a 
sufficient force, and, in a sharp battle at Wood Lake, utterly defeated them. 
Five hundred were taken prisoners, and sentenced to be hung. 

By the President's order only thirty-eight were hung, and the rest, 
after a long imprisonment, were set at liberty. It is estimated that from 
20,000 to 30,000 persons were driven from their homes, and that 500 lost 
their lives. Thousands of women and children were made dependent upon 
charity. In raising the means the excellent Bishop Whipple was very active. 

Depredations by Confederate Cruisers. 

A few cruisers, sailing under the Confederate flag during the war, 
inflicted great damage upon commerce. Every facility was afforded in 
Great Britain, and in her colonial ports, for building, victualling, arming, 
equipping and repairing these vessels. The " Oreto " was built in Liver- 
pool, sailed to Nassau August, 1862, was there detained awhile, and then 
delivered to Captain Maffit, and subsequentl}' appeared as the " Florida," 
sailing from Mobile. The " Alabama," built at Birkenhead, sailed from 
the Mersey June 29, 18G1, under Captain Semmes. The "Shenandoah," 
built at Glasgow in 1863, sailed from Liverpool to Madeira, and there 
received her crew and armament from the British brig " Laurel," and 
started on a cruise to the Arctic Ocean to destroy American whaling ves- 
sels. The British Government either could not, or would not, prevent 
these violations of neutrality. Our Government gave England notice that 
indemnity would be claimed for the damage done by such vessels. 

The Emperor Napoleon, in 1862, proposed to Great Britain and to 
Russia to unite with him in a joint effort at mediation between the United 
States and the Confederates. Those powers declining he undertook it alone. 
He proposed that the two parties should appoint commissioners to deliber- 
ate upon and discuss the matters in difference, and endeavor to come to a 
peaceable solution. The President's reply respectfully declined the emperor's 
good office, and informed him that the Confederate States could, at any 
time, terminate the war by laying down their arms and resuming their old 
relations in the Union. 




CHAPTER XXVII. 

IMPORTANT UNION SUCCESSES. 

,HE operations of 1862 had given to the Union possession of the 
whole valley of the Mississippi from Cairo to Memphis, and 
from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. The Confederates still 
held Vicksburg and Port Hudson, with the intermediate coun- 
try. The campaign against Vicksburg began in November. 
General Grant was maturing his plans for a movement, and had already 
given orders for the forces at Memphis and Helena, in Arkansas, under 
General Sherman, and those at Cairo, under General McClernand, to 
descend the river to Vicksburg ; while he himself intended to march against 
the Confederates in the States of Mississippi, to the north and east. But 
the cowardly surrender of Holly Springs, his base of supplies, by Colonel 
Murphy, to General Van Dorn, with all the army stores of food, clothing, 
ammunition, etc., compelled General Grant to fall back, and suspend the 
land movement. 

General Sherman, meantime, moved down the Mississippi to the mouth 
of the Yazoo River, and prepared to attack the defences of Vicksburg and 
the important post of Haines' Bluff, in its vicinity. The assault was made ; 
but the strength of the positions, the desperate defence of the Confederates, 
and the failure of General Grant to co-operate, induced General Sherman 
to suspend his attack and withdraw his forces to Milliken's Bend, twelve 
miles up the Mississippi River. While remaining here an expedition was 
sent up the Arkansas River, under General McClernand, which captured 
Arkansas Post, taking about 5,000 prisoners. Other small places on the 
White River were also taken. 

During January Grant moved his army from Memphis down to Young's 
Point, on the west bank of the river, a few miles north of Vicksburg. The 
whole of February and March were spent in preparing means to get below 
Vicksburg with the army. On the night of April 16th he attempted to 
run the gunboats and transports past the batteries of Vicksburg, and 
march the army by land. This perilous undertaking was successfully 

19 289 



290 IMPORTANT UNION SUCCESSES. 

accomplished. One transport was struck, set on fire, and abandoned by the 
crew. Six more followed, one of which was sunk ; but the others went 
through with slight injury. 

A part of the army had already reached the bank of the river, and 
were taken on board the transports down to Grand Gulf, which was shelled 
by the gunboats, but proved too strong to be captured by them. The 
troops were again landed, and marched to a point below ; while the gun- 
boats and transports ran the batteries of Grand Gulf, and the troops crossed 
the river below, at Bruinsburg. The next day the arni}^ moved down to 
Port Gibson, and, defeating the Confederate troops that opposed them, 
Grand Gulf was evacuated, and possession taken by Commodore Porter. 

The Capture of Vicksburg. 

When General Grant, in the prosecution of his original plan, at length 
moved east and north from the river, he took only five days' provisions. 
By the 19th of May he had fought five battles and one skirmish, and had 
occupied Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, driving General Joseph John- 
ston into the interior, and General Pemberton, with about 30,000 men into 
Vicksburg. While he was closing in and around Vicksburg, Commodore 
Porter ascended the Yazoo River; and, just as the advance of Sherman's 
army made its appearance at Sn3^der's Bluff, Commodore Porter captured 
Haines' Bluff just below Vicksburg, whose fourteen forts, with all their 
armament, fell into his hands ; and the place was made thereafter the base 
of supplies for Grant's army. 

General assaults were twice made upon Vicksburg, but without suc- 
cess. Grant not having troops enough completely to invest it ; but, draw- 
ing re-enforcements from the army of the Ohio, General Grant was thus 
enabled to complete the investment, and he then commenced a regular 
siege. After the 26tli of May firing was continued night and day. A hat 
was once held above a port-hole, and in two minutes was pierced with 
fifteen balls by the Union sharpshooters. For the first five days of the 
siege the garrison had full rations ; but each person was afterwards re- 
duced to fourteen and a quarter ounces of food dail3^ It was on the 4th of 
July, the nation's birthday, that the important event of Pemberton's final 
surrendei occurred. 

The indomitable courage and perseverance shown by Grant had its 
influence upon the whole war; not merely in the opening of the Missis- 



IMPORTANT UNION SUCCESSES. 291 

sippi, but as it mauifested to x'inierica and to the world that the Union 
had in this officer a master mind, with a genius for war; and this mani- 
festation was made after the Confederates had lost Stonewall Jackson. 

Grant reported that during the campaign the Confederates had lost 
37,000 in prisoners, and 10.000 killed and wounded. His own loss was 
1,234 killed, 7,095 wounded, 557 missing. 

In order to aid General Grant, by destro3dng the communications of 
General Johnston with the East, an important expedition had been organ- 
ized at Memphis, which, under General Grierson, marched southward 
through the heart of Mississippi. In his course he destroyed the Memphis 
and New Orleans Railroad, with many bridges, and property to a great 
amount. General Grierson's march terminated at Baton Rouge. 

Battle of Ohancellorsville. 

The Mississippi was now open from its source to its mouth, and the 
Confederacy practically cut in twain. After the repulse of Burnside, General 
Lee remained at Fredericksburg, while General Hooker occupied the opposite 
bank of the river at Falmouth. Late in April General Hooker crossed the 
Rappahannock by Kelly's ford, twenty-five miles above Fredericksburg, and 
by the 30th had reached Chancellorsville, a few miles southwest of that 
place. Before moving his army, he had sent a strong cavalry force under 
General Stoneman to cut the railroad in Lee's rear, so as to prevent his 
receiving reinforcements from Richmond. Stoneman rode within a few miles 
of Richmond, destroyed many miles of railroad, much government property, 
arrived at Gloucester Point in safety, and embarked for Washington. 

When news of this success reached Hooker, the bloody battle of 
Chancellorsville had been lost and won. On the 2d of May, the left wing 
of Lee's army, led by Stonewall Jackson, made a powerful attack upon 
Hooker's right, and after heroic deeds of valor on both sides, victory rested 
with the Confederates. Stonewall Jackson, to whose skill in ordering the 
battle this success was owing, fell mortally wounded ; and so universally 
was he respected and admired, that the news of his death sent a thrill through 
both armies, and throughout the nation. The Union loss was 11,000, 
among them General Whipple. The loss of the Confederates is unknown. 
On the night of the 5th, Hooker recrossed the Rappahannock in a 
heavy rain storm. 

General Lee was encouraged by his victory to make another invasion 




g;s>r3s«©#gsgf '&-«=«§«;< 



^ 



■' >., •> ,, -^tfe 




BATTLE OF OHANCELLORSVILLE. JACKSON'S ATTACK ON THE RIGHT WING. 
292 



IMPORTANT UNION SUCCESSES. 



293 



of Maryland and Pennsylvania. His arni}' numbered more than 100,000. 
He advanced by the Shenandoah valley, surprised and captured Winchester 
and Martinsburg, with their stores, and his march to Chambersburg was 
unchecked by any serious opposition. 

General Hooker, however had early divined Lee's purpose and had 
prepared for it by 
sending his sick, his 
wounded, and his mil- 
itary stores to Wash- 
ington. His army had 
been weakened by the 
return home of volun- 
teers whose term of 
enlistment had ex- 
pired, and he could 
expect no re-enforce- 
ments from the east. 
Yet Hooker had so 
disposed his retreat- 
ing arni}^ as to deter 
Lee from an attack, 
and also to cover 
Washington. When 
Lee had reached 
Chambersburg, Hook- 
er was at and near 
Frederick, Md. Lee's 
march had been rapid, 
and Hooker had kept 
pace with him. An 

order of President 

Lincoln, made at the general george g. meade. 

request of General Plooker, now placed General George G. Meade at the 
head of the army of the Potomac. This change of commander at such a 
critical moment was a hazardous experiment; and that no evil consequences 
resulted is an evidence that General Hooker had conducted his operations 
with skill, and had brought his ami}'- to a high state of discipline. 




294 IMPORTANT UNION SUCCESSES. 

Both armies were marching for the same point — the village of Gettys- 
burg in Pennsylvania, upon which many important roads converged. The 
army that should first occupy the town would have the advantage of 
choosing its position. General Reynolds, of the Union army, first passed 
through the village, and encountered the advance of his enemy on the 
heights north of the town. A brisk engagement followed, which ended by 
the withdrawal of the Union forces to Cemetery Hill, south of the village. 
During the night both armies were placed in position for the struggle of 
the next day. At noon General Lee began the attack, and hurled his masses 
with great fury and persistence upon the Federal lines. 

Battle of Gettysburg. 

The battle raged all the afternoon and until 9 o'clock in the evening. 
The Confederate General Longstreet had gained and held a piece of ground 
from which General Lee thought the position, on the crest of Cemetery 
Hill could be successfully assailed. Early the next morning General Lee 
renewed the attack. The contest was kept up along the whole line, but 
the design of Lee was to conceal his real object, which was the Cemetery 
Hill, the key to Meade's position. All the forenoon was occupied in arranging 
his batteries to bring a concentric fire upon this hill. At 1 o'clock, at a 
given signal, one hundred and fifty guns opened a simultaneous fire, and 
within five minutes the crest of the hill was swept entirely bare. This rain 
of iron hail fell incessantly for three hours. General Howard, who com- 
manded the hill, had withdrawn behind the crest, and for two hours scarcely 
replied to the storm. 

General Lee, supposing the Federal guns silenced, ordered his columns 
to scale the hill. As they approach, a terrible fire of grape, shell, and 
canister, is opened upon them from forty guns. They press forward, 
charging over the rifle-pits, and up to the muzzles of the guns. A scorch- 
ing fire of infantry is now poured into their thinned and broken ranks_ 
They reel, they fall back. A regiment throws down its arms and sur- 
renders. All along the field, smaller detachments do the same ; and the 
escaped are seen flying, a disordered mass, over the plain. The celebrated 
charge of the Confederate General Pickett was one of the most daring 
exploits of the war. He was driven back with great loss. The battle was 
ended ; and during the night the combatants, tired and exhausted, slept. 

The morning of the 4th was spent by both armies in burying the 




295 



296 IMPORTANT UNION SUCCESSES. 

dead, and caring for the wounded. In the afternoon it rained heavily. 
During the night, Lee began his retreat, and by the 11th was at Williams- 
port, near the Potomac. On the night of the 13th, he succeeded in taking 
his army over the Potomac at Falling Waters and Williamsport. The 
Federal loss at Gettysburg was 2,834 killed, 13,790 wounded, 6,643 missing. 
The Confederate loss was larger — 4,500 being buried on the field by the 
Union soldiers, and 40,121 were taken prisoners, 26,500 of whom were 
wounded. Nearly one-half of Lee's army was destroyed or taken. 

General Meade continued his pursuit until July 25th, when Lee had 
retired south of the Rapidan, and Meade was near Warrenton. The two 
armies occupied nearly the same quarters that they had two months before, 
and so remained all winter. 

The famous Confederate John Morgan was sent on a raid into Indiana 
and Ohio this year, to create diversions in favor of Lee, and prevent re-en- 
forcements being forwarded to Generals Grant and Hooker. He passed, in 
June, from Tennessee, near Burksville, on the Cumberland River, up 
through Kentucky to Brandenburg, on the Ohio, and then crossed into 
Indiana, with a force of about 4,500 cavalry. He marched through Cin- 
cinnati, made a detour a little north of that city, and pursued his way to 
Pomeroy, where he expected to cross, at Buffington's Island, into Kentucky. 

Pursuit and Capture of General Morgan. 

Here he was overtaken by General Hobson, and his force partly dis- 
persed and captured. He was taken prisoner with 500 men, by Colonel 
Shackelford, five days after, near New Lisbon. He had caused great alarm, 
and done much damage on his route, by the destruction of bridges, rail- 
roads, and other property, and by taking horses and levying on the inhab- 
tants for food and forage. 

This raid was part of the general plan of which Lee's invasion of 
Pennsylvania was the great feature, to transfer the war to the North. It 
is probable that aid was expected from the disaffected people in the Aliddle 
and Western States, whose numbers and influence were greately over-estimated 
at the South. There was practically no party ; there was only a small and 
contemptible faction, who would have made peace at the price of a divided 
Union, and a dissevered country. 

During the summer of 1863, the Confederate cruisers "Alabama" and 
" Florida '' inflicted great damage upon American commerce. They at first 



IMPORTANT UNION SUCCESSES. 29T 

cruised in the West Indies, and had little di£&culty in escaping the Federal 
war vessels by retiring, when hard pressed, into neutral ports. 

The "Florida" was captured October 7th, in the neutral port of Brazil,, 
by Captain Collins, of the "Wachusett." The " Vanderbilt," given to the 
government by Captain Vanderbilt, one of the swiftest and strongest 
steamers in the navy, made an unavailing chase after the "Alabama" 
across the Atlantic to Cape Town, and then through the Indian Ocean. 

Strategic Operations in Tennessee. 

The winter of 1863 was spent by the opposing armies in Tennessee 
in recruiting and preparing for the summer campaign. The only military 
operations were mutual raids to interrupt each other's communications, cut 
off and destroy trains and supplies. 

From January to June the Union army, under General Rosecrans, 
lay at Murfreesboro. Supplies were brought forward, and a large fortified 
depot was established. A cavalry force was also organized and equipped. 
Bragg's army, meantime, occupied a line on the north of Duck River, with 
his main base at Chattanooga, and a depot at Tullahoma. On the 23d of 
June Rosecrans began the campaign, and, by a series of strategetic move- 
ments, turned Bragg's position, and compelled him to abandon Tullahoma, 
which he did on the 30th. By the 5th of July Middle Tennessee was in 
possession of Rosecrans, and Bragg had crossed the Tennessee River at 
various points, fortifying himself in Chattanooga. This important result 
was obtained without any severe battle, and ^vith but few slight skirmishes, 
in which Rosecrans lost 85 killed, 462 wounded, and 13 missing He 
captured 1,634 prisoners. 

The next object was to capture Chattanooga, which commanded the 
route towards Atlanta and Georgia. The railroads between the Tennessee 
River and Nashville were first repaired, and were in condition for use July 
25th, when Sheridan's division occupied Stevenson and Bridgeport. Between 
the 16th and 29th of August the army had crossed the Tennessee 
Mountains, and by the 4tli of September had passed the Tennessee River. 
Passing the Sand Mountains and Lookout Mountain, on the 18th of Sep- 
tember, the army was concentrated near Crawfish Springs, in the valley of 
the Chickamauga. Meanwhile Bragg had retreated to La Fayette, Georgia, 
where, being reinforced by Longstreet's division from Virginia, he again 
moved towards Chattanooga. It was near midnight when Longstreet 



298 



IMPORTANT UNION SUCCESSES. 



reached Bragg's headquarters. He was pkiced in command of the left 
wing. A new disposition of the forces was made, and it was ordered that 
the action should commence at daybreak on the morrow, which was Sunday. 




LON(;STREET'S ARRIVAL AT BRAGG'S HEADQUARTERS. 

On the morning of the 19th began the battle of Chickamauga, by an 
attack led by General Thomas upon Bragg's right. The battle became 
general along the whole line, and lasted all day, without material advantage 
to either side, darkness closing the contest. The next morning Bragg 
renewed the fight by an overwhelming assault upon the Union centre, com- 
manded by Davis and Sheridan, piercing the line and cutting the army in 
twain. The right wing was driven in confusion from the field, and retreated 



IMPORTANT UNION SUCCESSES. 299 

in great haste to Chattanooga, General Rosecrans being carried along with 
the other fngitives. 

The left wing, under General Thomas, maintained its ground, repulsed 
every assault, held its position until night, and then withdrew in good 
order to Rossville. Remaining there all the next day, General Thomas at 
night marched to Chattanooga. His skill and conduct saved the army. 
On the night of September -'JOth Bragg dispatched Wheeler's cavalry across 
the Tennessee River, above Chattanooga, with directions to cut Rosecrans' 
communications. Wheeler was closely followed by Generals McCook and 
Mitchell, who defeated him in two actions, and drove him out of Tennessee 
before he could do any damage to the railroads. 

The Federal Armies United. 

After the battle of Chickamauga, the three departments of the Ohio, 
the Cumberland, and the Tennessee were combined, and named the Mili- 
tary Division of the Mississippi, General Grant assuming command. The 
Arni}^ of the Cumberland was at Chattanooga ; the Army of the Ohio, 
under General Burnside, was at Knoxville ; General W. T. Sherman, with 
Blair's division of the Army of the Mississippi, was on his march from 
Memphis to re-enforce Rosecrans ; and Hooker's corps, from the Army of 
the Potomac, was on the way to Chattanooga. General Thomas, who had 
succeeded General Rosecrans in the command of the Army of the Cumber- 
land, ordered Hooker to occupy Bridgeport. General Grant, arriving at Chat- 
tanooga October 23, approved and executed the plans of General Thomas. 

Bragg's army was strongly posted on the heights around and below 
Chattanooga, and unless he could be dislodged that place was untenable. 
A series of movements, planned by General Thomas, wrested from Bragg 
the positions that commanded the river, and opened it as a channel of sup- 
plies, which had previously been brought in wagons sixty miles across the 
mountains. Early in November, and while Grant was concentrating his 
forces, Bragg weakened his army by detaching Longstreet to attack Burn- 
side at Knoxville. 

November 16, General Sherman reached Bridgeport, and November 23, 
crossing the river, fortified himself on Missionary Ridge. Grant now 
ordered the attack upon Bragg's position. It was begun by General Thomas, 
who drove the Confederates from their front line, interposing one of his 
corps between them and the river. The same morning Hooker scaled the 



300 IMPORTANT UNION SUCCESSES. 

western slope of Lookout Mountain, drove the Confederates from their 
rifle-pits, capturing many prisoners, with small loss. The next morning he 
took possession of the top of the mountain, and swept across Lookout val- 
ley to Rossville. His march was for hours among the clouds that enveloped 
the mountains, hiding the army from view, their course being indicated by 
the report and echoes of their guns. 

At the same time General Sherman assailed Bragg's right, gaining and 
holding a line close to his rifle-pits. General Thomas also assaulted Bragg's 
centre, his troops nimbly climbing the steep sides of Missionary Ridge, 
carrying the summit, and dashing irresistibly through and over the Con- 
federate works. Bragg, believing the heights impregnable, delayed his own 
retreat until the Unionists were close upon him, and in his haste he could 
not save his personal effects. By midnight his army was in full retreat, 
leaving on the field thousands of small arms, and a large part of his artillery. 

Hasty Retreat of General Longstreet. 

General Grant, without delay, ordered Sherman, with a strong body of 
men, to the relief of Burnside, now sorely pressed by Longstreet. The city 
had been furiously assailed by the best division of Lee's army of Northern 
Virginia, and had been gallantly and successfully defended. The approach 
of Sherman caused Longstreet to raise the siege, and retreat towards Vir- 
ginia. Sherman's advance entered Knoxville on the night of December 3, 
and he arrived on the 16th. Remaining a few days to advise with Burn- 
side about the pursuit of Longstreet, and leaving Granger's corps at 
Knoxville, with the rest of his division he returned by slow marches 
to Chattanooga. 

General Grant's loss in the campaign was 757 killed, 4529 wounded, 
and 330 missing. He captured 239 of&cers, 5903 privates, 40 guns, and 
7000 small arms. The Confederate loss is not known, but it must have 
been at least equal to Grant's. 

In March, 1863, Congress passed an act requiring an enrolment of all 
the able-bodied male citizens of the United States. The whole country was 
divided into districts, for each of which a provost-marshal was appointed, 
subordinate to a provost-marshal-general at Washington. The enrolment 
was rapidly completed, amidst some excitement and dissatisfaction. The 
result showed that the number of men, between the ages of eighteen and 
forty-five years, liable to military duty, and not in the army, was 3.113,305. 



IMPORTANT UNION SUCCESSES. 301 

The draft was ordered to be made in July. One-fifth of the number 
enrolled was assumed as the quota of each district. As the day approached 
for the drawing to begin threats were publicly made of forcible opposition. 
In many of the large cities combinations to resist were secretly formed. 
The draft, however, was made, and in most places without opposition. But 
in New York city, on the second day, the of&ce of one of the provost- 
marshals was assailed and demolished by a mob. A fearful riot followed, 
Avhich raged for four days. Many houses and stores were sacked and 
burned. The fury of the mob was directed against prominent Union men, 
soldiers and citizens, many of whom were brutally murdered. Armories, 
gun-stores and rifle-factories were plundered. 

Great Destruction of Life and Property. 

The negroes were especially the objects of the fiendish hate and assault 
of the mob. They were knocked down, robbed and killed, without pity. 
The Colored Orphan Asylum was entered, its inmates thrust into the 
streets, and the building fired. Property valued at three or four millions 
of dollars was destroyed. Governor Seymour visited the city, and by public 
speech and private influence strove to save the city from violence. But 
reason and persuasion failed. Martial law was proclaimed, and the United 
States troops, under the direction of General Wool, aided by the admirable 
police of the city, finally suppressed the riot. It is said that more than a 
thousand lives were lost. A similar riot occurred in the city of Troy. In 
Boston, Portsmouth, and other places, the mob spirit was promptly 
quelled. This, and subsequent drafts, were completed without a recur- 
rence of violence. 




CHAPTER XXVIII. 

CAMPAIGNS OF SHERMAN AND GRANT. 

;HE close of the year 1863 left the Federal government in pos- 
session of the Mississippi River, and also of all the important 
ports on the Atlantic coast and Gulf of Mexico, except Wil- 
mington, Charleston, and Mobile. The Confederacy still had 
two large armies, under two able commanders. Lee, in Vir- 
ginia and North Carolina, at the head of 150,000, and Johnston, in Georgia, 
at the head of 60,000. The United States had, probably, twice that number 
in the field, besides those in forts and garrisons. 

The clash of arms ceased during the beginning of the winter. The 
lull was broken by expeditions preparatory to the final struggle. General 
Sherman, February 3d, marched from Vicksburg, with 30,000 men, to Mer- 
idian, reaching the place on the 15th. Here he expected to be joined by a 
cavalry force of 7,000, under Gen. W. F. Smith, who set out from Mem- 
phis on the 11th. But General Smith was met and checked by superior 
forces, under Forrest, and fell back to Memphis. 

General Sherman occupied Meridian for a week, and then returned, 
February 26, to Vicksburg, having destroyed 200 miles of railroad, with 
cars and connections, sixty-seven bridges, thousands of bales of cotton, and 
millions of bushels of corn. This destruction of communications and prop- 
erty crippled the Confederates, and had a damaging effect upon all their 
operations for the year. 

General Johnston sent a force from Dalton to oppose the march of 
Sherman, supposing his object to be Mobile. To counteract this movement, 
General Grant ordered General Palmer to advance towards Dalton, and 
threaten an attack upon Johnston. The army moved forward within two 
miles of Dalton, but, after some slight skirmishes, withdrew to Ringgold. 
General Schofield, who had superseded General Burnside in East Ten- 
nessee, moved against General Longstreet, who had wintered there. Long- 
street retreated into Virginia, rejoining Lee. 

An expedition designing to occupy Florida, consisting of twenty 

302 



CAMPAIGNS OF SHERMAN AND GRANT. 303 

steamers and eight schooners, with 5,000 men, under General Gillmore, 
sailed from Hilton Head. The army began its march immediately, under 
General Seymour, and by the 15th, after slight skirmishing, reached 
Baldwin. Continuing the march, on the 20th they encountered General 
Finnegan, at Olustee ; and, after suffering a disastrous defeat, returned 
to Jacksonville. 

A formidable expedition for the capture of vShreveport, on the Red 
River, and the occupation of Western L/Ouisiaua, was organized under 
General Banks, at New Orleans. A large fleet under Rear-Admiral Porter, 
consisting of three monitors, seven iron-clads, and ten other vessels, was 
collected at the mouth of Red river. March 12th, the expedition began 
the ascent of the river. On the 14th, Fort De Russy was captured. The 
Confederate forces, under Gen. Dick Taylor, were defeated in two encounters, 
on the 21st, at Henderson Hill, and the 28th, at Cane river. On the 
morning of April 6th, the whole arm}-, which had been concentrated at 
Alexandria and Grand Hcore, moved from the latter place, and engaged 
the Confederates at Pleasant Hill, very soon succeeding in driving them in 
disorder from the field. 

Heavy Losses of the Union Army. 

On the morning of the 8th, the advance of General Banks, consisting 
of about 8,000 men, reached Sabine Cross Roads ; while General Franklin, 
with the Nineteenth Corps, was in camp nine miles in the rear, and Gen- 
eral Smith, with half of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Corps, was twent}'- 
miles in the rear. Gen. Dick Taylor fell with his whole force upon 
General Banks, and, before General Franklin could come to his aid, 
defeated him, with a loss of 2,000 men, and the whole of his transportation 
train. Banks retreated during the night to Pleasant Hill, followed by 
Taylor, and a second battle ensued, in which the Confederates were driven 
from the field. But Banks' victor}- was barren, and his losses so great, 
that the next morning, leaving his dead unburied, lie began his retreat 
towards Alexandria, where he arrived April 27th. Here he was detained 
until May 14th. 

The water in the river was so low that the gunboats could not descend 
the falls, until Lieutenant-Colonel Bailey suggested the construction cl 
wing-dams on each side of the river, leaving a channel fifty feet wide in 
the middle. His suggestion was carried into effect, under his own super- 



304 CAMPAIGNS OF SHERMAN AND GRANT. 

intendence : the fleet passed safely over the falls, and reached the mouth 
•of Red River, May 16th. The army returned to New Orleans, and the 
£eet to its station on the Mississippi. The expedition was a disastrous 
failure, with the loss of 3,000 men, 20 pieces of artillery, 1,200 horses and 
mules, and immense quantities of army stores. 

General Steele left his station at Little Rock, Ark., March 23d, to 
<:o-operate with General Banks. He reached Arkadelphia the 28th. April 
16th, he was joined by General Thayer, who had marched from Fort 
Smith. After several severe skirmishes, in which he was successful, he 
occupied Camden, where he remained until the 26th. In the meantime, 
laving heard of the defeat and retreat of General Banks, he retraced his 
•steps, reaching Little Rock, May 2d. 

April 19th, a Confederate force under General Hoke, aided by the 
Tam "Albemarle," attacked Plymouth, N. C, commanded by Gen. H. W. 
Wessels, carried the place by assault, and captured the entire garrison and 
armament. The gunboat " Smithfield " was almost immediately sunk, and 
the "Miami" considerably disabled. 

Frightful Slaughter of Negro Troops. 

During the months of March and April, the Confederate General 
F'orrest entered Kentucky, captured Union City and its garrison, and, 
March 24th, attacked Paducah, but was repulsed by Colonel Hicks. On 
the morning of April 13th, Forrest attacked Fort Pillow, Tenn., garrisoned 
by a detachment of Tennessee cavalry and by the first regiment of Ala- 
bama colored troops, under Major Booth. The garrison refused to surrender, 
and fought bravely until 3 o'clock in the afternoon ; when, the fort being 
■carried by assault, the men threw down their arms, but, being of the 
negro race, they were massacred without mercy. 

The guerilla John Morgan entered Kentucky, through Pound Gap, in 
the latter part of May, with two or three thousand men. After his capture 
in Ohio, he had escaped from prison. He attacked Cynthiana June 11th, 
and captured the garrison. On the 12th, he was met by General Bur- 
hridge, routed with loss, and driven out of the State. This dreaded raider 
was subsequently killed at Greenville, Tenn., while attempting to escape 
in the night, from a house which was surrounded by Union troops under the 
command of General Gillem. 

The army of the Potomac had lain on the north side of the Rapidan 



CAMPAIGNS OF SHERMAN AND GRANT. 305 

from December, 1863, until May, 18G4. The army of General Lee was 
encamped on the south side of the same river. The first important move- 
ment in the spring was the expedition under General Kilpatrick, who left 
Stevensburg February 28th with about 8,000 men, and crossed the Rapidan 
at Germania and Ely's Ford, about sixty miles from Richmond. He struck 
the Virginia Central railroad at Frederickshall, and tore it up for several 
miles. He then detached Colonel Dahlgren towards the James River Canal, 
and moved himself to Ashland. The detachment under Colonel Dahlgren 
was misled by a negro guide, and, failing to rejoin Kilpatrick at Ashland, 
was defeated in a skirmish with L-ieutenant-Colonel Pollard. Colonel 
Dahlgren was killed, and sixty of his men captured. Kilpatrick went 
within six miles of Richmond. Unable to approach nearer, he moved 
down the peninsula, effecting a junction with General Butler at Tunstall's 
Station, on the York River railroad. 

Proniotlon of General Grant. 

Congress, February 29th, passed an act reviving the grade of Lieuten- 
ant-General. The President approved the act, and immediately sent to the 
Senate the name of Ulysses S. Grant, whose nomination was confirmed 
March 3d. General Grant coming to Washington, his commission was 
presented to him by President Lincoln, in the presence of the Cabinet and 
other distinguished persons. His first order, assuming command of the 
armies of the United States, was issued from his headquarters at Nashville. 
By direction of the President he assigned the military division of the 
Mississippi, composed of the Departments of the Ohio, the Tennessee, the 
Cumberland, and the Arkansas, to Major-General W. T. Sherman; and 
the army of the Tennessee was placed under the direct command of Major- 
General J. B. McPherson. 

November 25th, in the night, a number of fires were set in the city 
of New York, simultaneously, in different places. They were clearly the 
work of incendiaries. The police subsequently arrested Robert Kennedy, 
in the cars near Detroit. He was tried and convicted of setting fire to 
Barnum's Museum, Lovejoy's Hotel, Tammany Hall and the New England 
House. He said he had five accomplices, who each set fire to their board- 
ing-houses. They all stayed in the city the next day, and then escaped 
to Canada. He further stated that he and his accomplices were hired to 
burn the city of New York by Confederate agents in Canada. The reason 

20 



306 CAMPAIGNS OF SHERMAN AND GRANT. 

assigned in justification of the crime was the desolation of the Shenandoah 
Valley by General Sheridan. 

October 19th a raid from Canada upon St. Albans, Vermont, was made 
by a party, twenty or tliirty in number, claiming to be in the Confederate 
service. They robbed the St. Albans' Bank of fifty thousand dollars, stole 
horses enough to mount the party, fired upon unarmed citizens, and set 
fire to a hotel. Some of them were arrested in Canada and brought to 
trial, but were discharged unpunished. The Canadian government, how- 
ever, refunded a part of the money. This was the only successful raid 
among many planned by Confederates in Canada, aided and encouraged 
by sympathizing friends. 

General Grant, whose labors had hitherto been done in the West, left 
Nashville a fortnight after being made Commander-in-chief, and established 
his headquarters M'ith the Army of the Potomac. 

Soldiers Calmly Preparing for Death. 

Between the battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863, and the close of the 
year. General Meade had followed Lee, until the latter took post on a 
strong line south of the Rapidan, a few miles east of Gordons ville. The 
campaign hr.d been one of manoeuvres, by which each had sought to gain 
some position where he could fight his antagonist at a disadvantage. At 
one time Meade crossed the Rapidan, near a small stream called Mine Run, 
and drew up his troops in order of battle. The soldiers, who knew the 
strength of Lee's position, conscious of the desperate and hopeless task 
before them, calmly prepared for death. 

Each one wrote on a slip of paper his name, his company, regiment 
and residence, and pinned it to his clothes, so that his dead body might 
be recognized by his friends. Meade did not put them to the test. He 
recrossed the Rapidan to his camp, and thus the two armies confronted 
each other ail winter. Both were strongly reinforced, and improved in 
drill and discipline. Longstreet was recalled by Lee from Hast Tennessee, 
and his corps was encamped near Gordonsville. Lee also summoned to 
his aid all the troops that could be spared from the Carolinas. On the 
Union side the army of the Potomac was increased to nearly 100,000, and 
Burnside's corps, transferred from East Tennessee, was held in reserve. 

Meade's army was composed of three corps: the Second, Fifth and 
Sixth, commanded respectively by Generals Hancock, Warren and Sedg- 



CAMPAIGNS OF SHERMAN AND GRANT. 307 

wick. General Sheridan commanded the cavalry; General H. J. Hunt 
was chief of artillery; Major Duane, chief engineer, and General Ingalls, 
quartermaster. Although Grant had supreme direction, all orders were 
issued by Meade. 

As co-operative movements, General Butler, with 30,000 men, was at 
Fortress Monroe, ready to threaten Richmond by the James river; and 
General Sigel, with 17,000 men, was in West Virginia — one column in the 
Shenandoah Valley, and another, under General Crook, in the Valley 
of the Kanawha. 

The army of the Potomac moved on the night of the 3d of May. The 
right column, under Warren and Sedgwick, crossed at Germania Ford^ 
and the left, under Hancock, at Ely's Ford, six miles below. During 
the 4th the army crossed the river, and at night encamped on the battle- 
field of Chancellorsville. 

Clever Tactics of Lee and Longstreet. 

General Lee did not oppose the crossing. His right was turned. His 
force, consisting of three corps, extended from Somerville Ford to Gordons- 
ville — Longstreet's corps near the latter place, Hill's in the vicinity of 
Orange Court-house, and Ewell's to the right and along the Rapidan. On 
the morning of the 5th General Meade put his forces in motion, intending 
to place himself between the Confederate army and Gordonsville. But 
General Lee, to foil this plan, marched his army rapidly to the east, on 
the Orange and Frederick plank-road and turnpike, and assailed Meade 
in the Wilderness. 

The country so called is a region where mining operations had been 
carried on, and the original forest having been cleared away, the land was 
rocky and uneven, overspread with a thick growth of low, scraggy pines 
and scrub-oaks. Cavalry could not penetrate it, and artillery could not be 
dragged over it. It was just such a field as that on which Braddock had 
been lured to destruction. It was a battle of musketrj^ only, and only 
Indian tactics prevailed. 

Before noon Longstreet fell upon Hancock's left with such fierceness 
that it was forced to the Brock road, which Longstreet determined to seize. 
Should he succeed in doing so Grant would be forced to retreat to the 
Rapidan under circumstances as disastrous as his predecessors, who had 
invariably fallen back from before Lee. 



SOS 



CAMPAIGNS OF SHERMAN AND GRANT. 



This success of Longstreet in making this V^ 
liighly important movement was prevented by a 
remarkable accident. He spurred for- 
ward to lead the movement. At that 
rioment some Confederate troops mis- 
took him and his escort for Union 
cavalry, and fired a volley at them. 
Longstreet waved his hand / \ 

and shouted to them to stop 
firing. 

did so, V .-i4yl!.UI * l>li ' .J-<S'7 





-t 



\7 -7 -'--. - 

WOUNDIXG OF GENERAL LONGSTREET BY 



HIS OWN MEN. 



1^ 



but not 
until a 
bullet passed 
through his 
thioat, coming out 
> at the shoulder. He 

fell from his horse, and 
was believed to be dead. 
Such a calamit}' spread 
dismay for a time in the 
Confederate ranks, and prevented the 
success of the movement. 



CAMPAIGNS OF SHERMAN AND GRANT. 3Q9 

Lee expected, by his sudden and fierce onset, in a place where cavalry 
and artillery were useless, and his sharpshooters were at home, to drive Grant 
back over the Rapidan. Grant hoped to destroy Lee's army by the weight 
of his superior masses. Both failed. 

The Civil War here presented the melancholy spectacle of 15,000 Union 
and 8000 Confederate dead. The Union General Wadsworth was killed, and 
Generals Seymour and Shaler taken prisoners. General Longstreet M^as 
badly wounded, and disabled for the rest of the campaign. 

Battle of Spottsylvania Court-House. 

General Grant, on the 7th, directed his army to move to Spottsylvania 
Court-house, and turn Lee's right. General Meade set the army early in 
motion, hoping to plant it between Lee and Richmond. The Confederate 
general was first on the ground, and intrenched. For twelve days the armies 
faced each other, Lee acting on the defensive. All attempts to break through 
his lines failed. One was attended with partial success. General Hancock^ 
before daylight, carried the first line of Lee's works in the centre, taking 
4000 prisoners and twent}^ guns. 

The ground thus gained was held, although General Lee in his 
endeavor to recapture it, kept up the contest until midnight, a continuous 
battle of twenty hours. It was the fiercest and bloodiest struggle of the 
campaign. General Grant afterwards made repeated attempts to find a weak 
point in Lee's lines, but they were impregnable. 

Here General Sheridan was detached with his three divisions of cavalry, 
numbering 12,000 men, with thirty-two pieces of field artillery, under 
Generals Gregg, Merritt, and Wilson, besides those left with the army for 
picket and orderly duty, upon an expedition to the Confederate rear. The 
raid was designed to cut Lee's communications, by destroying in part the 
railroads between him and Richmond, to threaten, and, if practicable, seize 
that city, and to open communications with the army of the James. 

General Sheridan succeeded in burning Beaver Dam and Ashland 
Stations, with an immense accumulation of supplies, and in tearing up more 
than twenty miles of railroad. Near Beaver Dam he overtook and recap- 
tured nearly 400 Union prisoners, including Colonels Phelps and Tall3^ 
He proceeded towards Richmond, met and defeated the Confederate cavalry 
at Yellow Tavern, eight miles north of the city, in a sharp combat, 
which resulted in the death of General J. K. B. Stuart. 



310 CAMPAIGNS OF SHERMAN AND GRANT. 

Sheridan pushed on, carried the first line of the defences of Richmond, 
again encountered the Confederate cavalry, reinforced b}- the Home Guards 
and other infantry, strongly intrenched, and after foiling a desperate effort 
to entrap his command, succeeded b}^ hard fighting in forcing the passage 
at Meadow Bridge, and withdrawing to the north side of the Chickahominy. 
Thence proceeding through Mechanicsville, he again met and defeated the 
Confederates, and then pushed on to Haxall's lyanding, on the James 
river, where he communicated with General Butler at Bermuda Hun- 
dred. Here he embarked his force on transports, and rejoined the Army 
of the Potomac. 

On the same day that Meade crossed the Rapidan, General Butler 
embarked his troops on board of transports at Fortress Monroe, and sailed 
Tip the James river, convoj^ed by a fleet of gunboats. The next day he 
effected a landing at City Point and Port Powhatan, but disembarked his 
main bod}^ at Bermuda Hundred, a neck of land lying between the Appo- 
mattox and James rivers, ten miles north of Petersburg, and twenty miles 
south of Richmond. General Beauregard quickh^ drew all available forces 
from the south, foiled Butler's attempts upon Petersburg and Richmond, 
attacked him on the IGth, and drove him within his lines between the forks 
of the two rivers, and, intrenching in his front, covered the railroad and 
both cities. General Beauregard then reinforced Lee, who also was now 
joined by the troops under Breckinridge, from Tennessee. 

Union Troops Headed toward Richniond. 

General Sigel, advancing np the Shenandoah, was defeated at New 
Market, May 15, when he was superseded b}^ General Hunter, who in his 
turn defeated the Confederates at Piedmont. Hunter marched to Lynch- 
"burg, but finding the place too strongly defended, he turned back by a 
route through West Virginia, bringing his command safely through. 

The twelve days' conflict at Spottsylvania was ended by another turn- 
ing movement, which began by the march of Hancock's corps towards 
Richmond. The point aimed at was the line of the North Anna river. 
The two armies were soon in motion, and moving on parallel lines, the 
whole object of Lee being to interpose himself continually between Grant 
and Richmond. Grant crossed the North Anna river, but Lee still was 
able to intrench himself in an unassailable position, and again Grant, by a 
flank movement, reached Cold Harbor, once more to be confronted by Lee, 



CAMPAIGNS OF SHERMAN AND GRANT. 



311 



in a position in advance of the Chickahomin}'^, covering the Virginia Cen- 
tral, and the Fredericksburg and Richmond railroads. 

An attack was made at five o'clock in the evening on Lee's lines by 
the Sixth Corps, and the troops under General William F. Smith, just 
arrived from General Butler's army. The attack was successful, and the 
ground gained held agamst repeated assaults. An attack was made along 
the whole line, and within twenty minutes more than ten thousand men 




BATTLE OF COLD HARBOR. 

fell before they could reach the Confederate lines. Some hours later General 
Meade ordered a second advance, and the men unanimously refused to obey. 

General Grant, June 14, transferred his army south of the James river. 
He then ordered General Butler to send General Smith, during the night, 
against Petersburg. The movement was not prompt, and General Smith, 
instead of marching into Petersburg, which was then undefended, rested 
over-night The next morning it was too late. All that could be done was 
to carry the outer works. A good position was gained, and the army pro- 
ceeded to envelop Petersburg towards the Southside railroad, as far as pos- 
sible, without attacking fortifications. 

As early as the 7th of June, General Sheridan had been sent on a 



312 CAMPAIGNS OF SHERMAN AND GRANT. 

raid towards Gordonsville, there to effect a junction, if possible, with Gen- 
eral Hunter, and destroy the Virginia Central railroad. General S heridan 
reached Trevilian Station, where he encountered and defeated a body of 
cavalry, and destroyed about twelve miles of railroad. Hearing nothing of 
General Hunter he turned back, and on the 25th crossed the James river 
at Powhatan and rejoined the army. 

Between the 22d and 30th of June, Generals Wilson and Kauiz made 
a cavalry raid against the railroads, south of Richmond. General Wilson 
reached Burkesville Station, and destroyed twenty-five miles of the Danville 
railroad. The Southside road and the Weldon road were both damaged. 
The expedition then returned, but with the loss of its artillery. 

A Regiment and Battery Blown Up. 

For some weeks in July the Ninth Army Corps had been engaged in 
digging a mine under one of the Confederate forts. Before springing the 
mine a demonstration was made on the north side of the James river against 
the New Market road, to induce the sending of troops away from the 
Petersburg defences. On the morning of the 30th, between four and five 
o'clock, the mine was sprung, blowing up a battery and most of a regi- 
ment. The advance of the assaulting column, formed of the Ninth Corps, 
took possession of the crater made by the explosion. Not being properly 
supported thej^ were driven back with great slaughter. The failure to take 
the fort, the capture of which was certain to compel the evacuation of Peters- 
burg, was a bitter disappointment to General Grant and the nation. 

The occupation of the Weldon railroad, the completion of a railroad 
from City Point to the Weldon railroad, facilitating the transit of troops, 
arms, and supplies through the Union lines, the capture of Fort Harrison, 
north of the James river, and a futile attempt to extend the Federal lines 
to the Southside railroad, were the most important events in the siege of 
Petersburg and Richmond until the final grand advance. 

Here we break the current of our narrative and turn our attention to 
the movements of General Sherman. It was on the 14tli of March that 
General Sherman took command of the Department of the Mississippi. He 
had three armies encamped in and around Chattanooga — the Army of the 
Cumberland, General Thomas commanding, 60,773 men ; the Army of the 
Tennessee, General McPherson commanding, 24,465 men ; and the Arm}- 
of the Ohio, General Schofield commanding, 13,559 men. The whole was 



CAMPAIGNS OF SHERMAN AND GRANT. 31 3' 

composed of 88,188 infantry, G149 cavalry, and 4460 artillery; or, 98,797 
men and 254 guns. To supply this army there was but a single line of 
railroad from Louisville, Kentucky, through Nashville to Chattanooga. By 
the first of May the depots at Nashville and Chattanooga were well filled 
with supplies of provisions and military stores, and everything in readiness 
for an onward march. 

The Confederates lay in and about Dalton, thirt3'-eight miles south of 
Chattanooga. Their force was estimated at 50,000 infantry and 10,000' 
cavalry, mostly veterans, under the command of General Joseph K. Johnston,, 
an able general, second only, and by some deemed superior, to General 
Lee in military skill and capacity. What he lacked in numbers was made 
up in the rugged and defensible character of the country. His position at 
Dalton was well fortified, and the hundred miles to Atlanta was the most 
impracticable region over which an aggressive march was ever undertaken. 

Retreat of General Johnston. 

General Sherman began his movement May 0th. He found the position 
at Buzzard's Roost too strong to be assaulted. General McPherson was 
sent through Snake Gap to turn it, while Generals Thomas and Schofield 
threatened it in front and on the north. The movement was successful. 
General Johnston, finding his retreat likely to be cut off, fell back to his 
fortified position at Resaca. Here he was attacked, and a heav}^ battle 
ensued May 15th. During the night Johnston retreated. His rear-guard 
was overtaken and attacked at Adairsville. Severe skirmishing ensued. 

He continued his retreat until the 19th, when he crossed the Etowah 
river. While these operations were going on General Jefferson C. Davis' 
division of Thomas' army was sent to Rome, which, with its forts and 
artillery, its valuable mills and foundries, was captured and destroyed. 
After resting a few days, General Sherman put his army in motion for 
Dallas, with a view to turn the difiicult pass of Alatoona. On the 25th 
General Hooker had a severe battle v.-ith a part of Hood's and Hardee's 
corps, driving them back to New Hope Church. Of several encounters, 
at and near Dallas, the most important was a desperate assault upon 
McPherson, which met with a bloody repulse. 

On the 4th of June Johnston retreated to the strong positions of Pine, 
Kenesaw and Lost mountains. For several days there was incessant skir- 
mishing. In the meantime the Federal army was reinforced by General 



514 



CAMPAIGNS OF SHERMAN AND GRANT. 



Blair, with two divisious of the Seventeenth Army Corps.; and the Con- 
federate army by the Georgia militia and accessions of cavalry. On the 
I4th the warrior-bishop, Leonidas 
Polk, was killed by an exploding 
shell while standing with " S^ 
Johnston and Hardee on ^-^ 
the crest of 




Pine ]\lonn- 
tain. On the 
2Sth Generals 
Thomas and 
IMcPherson 
made a determined assault on 
Johnston's works, but were re- 
pulsed with terrible slaughter. 
Defeated in his direct attack, 
General v^herman again moved 
his army b}^ the right, and turned John- 
ston's position, compelling him to aban- 
don Kenesaw and retreat, July 3d, across 
the Chattahoochee. Both armies rested 
in comparative quiet, the time being occupied by General Sherman in 
manoeuvres and movements for the purpose of crossing the Chattahoochee 



DEATH OF GENERAL POLK. 



CAMPAIGNS OF SHERMAN AND GRANT. 315 

and turning Johnston's position, which had been carefully chosen, and 
strongl}^ fortified, as the last defence of Atlanta. On the 17th General 
Sherman had crossed the Chattahoochee, and b}' the 20th had forced 
Johnston into his intrenchments in front of Atlanta, and here General 
Johnston was, by order of President Davis, superseded in command by- 
General J. B. Hood. 

General Hood immediately assumed the offensive, and made, during 
the latter part of Jul}^, several desperate assaults upon General Sherman's 
lines. The most determined attack was on July 22, during which the 
brave and accomplished General jMcPherson was killed. Hood was defeated 
in every attempt, and his arni}^ suffered losses which could not be repaired. 
The Confederate loss in this battle, the bloodiest in the campaign, was 
about 12,000 killed, wounded and prisoners, while that of the Federals was 
o,722. General Logan succeeded General McPherson in command, until 
superseded by ]\Iajor-General Howard. 

Three Expeditions Sent Forward. 

During the month of August General Sherman partially invested 
Atlanta. In the meantime three expeditions, under Generals McCook, 
Garrard and Stoneman, were made to cut the railroads south of Atlanta. 
The first was successful ; the others failed. General Rousseau had pre- 
viously made a successful raid upon the Atlanta and Montgomery railroad, 
and its branches near Opelika. About the same time, also, the Confederate 
General Wheeler left Atlanta with a large force of cavalry, intending to 
€Ut General Sherman's communications in the rear. He crossed the rail- 
road near Dalton, passed into East Tennessee, and then went to McMinn • 
villa, Murfreesboro, and Franklin, and finally into Alabama. The damage 
done by him was repaired in a few days. 

General Sherman becoming convinced that he could not completely 
invest Atlanta, decided to move round Hood's left flank upon the Mont- 
gomery and Macon railroad, and thus draw him from his fortifications. 
Hood was compelled to abandon Atlanta, and being defeated at Rough and 
Read}^, at Jonesboro and Lovejoy's, he retreated south. On the 2d General 
Slocum entered the city, and General Sherman, desisting from the pursuit 
of Hood, returned and encamped around it on the 8th. 

While General Sherman was marching and fighting his way towards 
Atlanta the single line of railroad from Nashville, by which alone he 



316 CAMPAIGNS OF SHERMAN AND GRANT. 

could receive supplies, had to be guarded the whole distauce. The Con- 
federate General Forrest, in Northern Mississippi, was meditating an attack 
upon it, to cut off Sherman's retreat should lie meet with a serious 
reverse. General Sherman, therefore, directed General Washburne to send 
General Sturgis, with the forces in West Tennessee, to operate against 
Forrest. On the morning of the 10th of June General Sturgis met Forrest 
near Guntown, Mississippi, was badly beaten, and retreated in utter con- 
fusion hotly pursued, to Memphis. But the conflict defeated Forrest's 
designs against Sherman. 

The movements of General Sherman were in keeping with the plan 
to divide the Confederacy, and break it up. Already the Union armies 
held a strong position in the central part of those States which were try- 
ing to sever themselves from the Union. 

General Sherman's plan was to cut the Confederacy in twain. While 
militar}^ operations were going on farther north, and on the coast, he 
resolved to strike at vital paints. Possessed of great energy and military 
skill, his plans were formed with a far end in view, and he pushed for- 
ward, bravely determined to accomplish his purpose. Already the forces 
of the South were becoming weak, although not yet ready to give up the 
fight. Enthusiasm could not make up for lack of numbers. Men might 
be willing to starve, and even lay down their lives, but this was no surety 
that they could obtain the victory. 




CHAPTER XXIX. 

BATTLES ON LAND AND SEA. 

^jIL^x'iIINGTON, North Carolina, was the only seaport town on 
the coast that the United States fleet had been unable to 
blockade with any degree of success. The entrance to the 
city is by Cape Fear river, whose outlet is such that the 
navy could not effectually close it against blockade-runners, 
which were dail}^ passing in and out with supplies from abroad, and exports 
of cotton and other products. 

The number of vessels that ran the blockade in fifteen months, from 
October 1, 1863, to December 31, 1804, was 397, English capitalists had 
invested in the trade more than sixty millions of dollars. Fifty cruisers 
stationed on the coast could not guard the entrance, although they made 
sixty-five captures of steamers, whose value was more than thirteen 
millions of dollars. 

In the summer of 1864, it was determined to make an effort to capture 
the town. Its main defences were Fort Caswell, situated on the north end 
of Oak Island, on the south side of the river ; and Fort Johnson, near 
Smithville, on the mainland ; and Fort Fisher, on the southern point of 
the mainland, on the south side of the river, commanding both the channel 
of the river and that of New Inlet. It was a strong fort, and garrisoned 
by 2,300 men. The naval part of the expedition was assembled in Hamp- 
ton Roads, and was ready to sail early in the fall. It consisted of the 
iron-clads " Ironsides," " Monadnock," " Canonicus," and " Mahopac ; " the 
frigates " ]\Iinnesota," "Colorado," "Wabash;" and several gunboats and 
vessels of smaller size, and a fleet of transports. 

The expedition got off on the 13th : the troops on board numbered 
6,500. It was intended by General Grant that General Weitzel should 
command them. But General Butler, through whom, as the superior of&cer, 
the instructions to Weitzel were given, put the instructions in his pocket, 
and went himself. General Grant did not dream that Butler would take 
command, and thouglit that if he went, it would be nierel}^ to see the 

317 



318 BATTLES ON LAND AND SEA. 

explosion of a boat laden with powder, which he had prepared at great 
expense and delay, as if fancying that the mud walls of Fort Fisher 
would fall at the noise, as the walls of Jericho did at the sound 
of Joshua's trumpets. 

The fleet arrived off New Inlet on the 15th, but a storm delayed the 
attack until the 24tli. The powder boat was exploded the same morning, 
with so little effect that the Confederates did not know the object of it 
until they were informed by the Northern newspapers. At one o'clock the 
bombardment began, and in an hour and fifteen minutes the fort ceased to 
fire in return. The fire was kept up for five hours. The fleet suffered no 
injury, except by the explosion of its own guns, by which about forty 
men were killed, and others were wounded. 

The Works too Strong to be Taken. 

The next day the bombardment was renewed, and a landing of part 
of the force was made ; but General Weitzel, after a survey of the work,, 
reported that it would be "butchery to order an assault." This opinion 
coincided with that of General Butler, who ordered the troops to re-embark, 
and return to Fortress Monroe. Rear-Admiral Porter, who commanded the 
fleet, did not agree with General Butler, and so wrote to the Navy Department. 

He remained off New Inlet two days, and then went to Beaufort, and 
waited in the confident expectation that General Grant would order a 
second attack. Accordingly, on the 30th of December, General Grant wrote 
to Admiral Porter to hold on, and he would send a force, and make another 
attempt to take the place. The same troops were ordered back, with 
the addition of a brigade of 1,500 men, and Gen. A. H. Terry was selected 
for the command. 

The expedition sailed January Gth, and arrived at Beaufort on the 8th. 
Here it was detained by rough weather until the 12th. The next day the 
troops were all landed. The fleet opened fire upon the fort, and kept it up 
continuously for two days. 

The assault was made at 3 p. m. January 15, by the army on the land 
face, and by a body of sailors and marines on the northeast bastion. The 
latter failed, but the army was more successful. By 5 o'clock nine traverses, 
being half the land front, were carried by hand-to-hand fighting. By 9 
o'clock two more were carried, and an hour later the occupation of the 
fort was complete. 



BATTLES ON LAND AND SEA. 31 9 

The garrison retreated to Federal Point, where, their retreat being cut 
off, they surrendered unconditionally, to the number of 208o ; the rest were 
killed and wounded. The Union loss, of both army and fleet, was about 
900, The fall of Fort Fisher was followed by that of Fort Caswell, and the 
forts at Smith's Island, Smithville, and Reeve's Point, and the city of 
Wilmington. The Confederate gunboats "Tallahassee" and "Chickamauga"' 
were also destroyed. 

The city of Mobile was defended by three forts at the entrance of 
Mobile Bay, forts Morgan and Gaines, on opposite sides of the channel, the 
latter on Dauphin Island, and the former at the end of a long sandy reach 
of the mainland. These forts kept the blockading fleet out of the bay. 
Admiral Farragut, who commanded the Gulf Squadron, reconnoitered the 
approaches to the bay early in the year, and offered, with the assistance of 
two or three iron-clads and a few thousand soldiers to gain full possession 
of the ba}^ In the latter part of July four monitors were added to his. 
squadron, and General Granger was prepared to co-operate with the troops.. 

The Whole Fleet in Motion. 

On the evening of August 4th the monitors and wooden vessels were 
all assembled off the bar of Mobile Bay, and the next morning, before six 
o'clock, the whole fleet moved up the bay. The wooden ships had each an 
iron-clad lashed to the side next to Fort Morgan, for the double purpose of 
protection, and that if either should be disabled her partner might tow her 
along. The four monitors also moved between the ships and the fort, at 
the distance of about two hundred yards from the latter. 

Admiral Farragut, lashed to the topmast of his flagship, the Hartford, 
led the attack, and opened such a terrible and continuous fire upon the 
fort that the gunners were driven from their guns, and all the fleet passed 
the forts with very little damage, except to the monitor Tecumseh, which, 
was struck by a torpedo, staving a hole in her side, when she filled and 
sank, carrying down her brave commander, T. A. M. Craven, and all her 
crew but four officers and seventeen men. 

Soon after eight o'clock a desperate battle began with the Confederate 
fleet, consisting of the "Selma," "Morgan," and "Gaines," and the iron-clad 
ram "Tennessee," the most formidable ship ever constructed by the 
Confederates, and commanded by Admiral Buchanan, who had formerly 
commanded the Merrimac. After a contest of two hours with the whole 



320 BATTLES ON LAND AND SEA. 

Federal fleet, the ram surrendered. Admiral Buchanan lost a leg, and twelve 
of his crew were killed and wounded. Two hundred and eighty prisoners 
were taken. Admiral Farragut lost fifty-two killed and one hundred and 
seventy wounded, besides those drowned in the "Tecumseli." 

The forts were immediately invested. Gaines surrendered on the 7th, 
and Morgan on the 23d. Fort Powell was blown up and abandoned. The 
number of prisoners captured was 1464. Henceforth Mobile Bay was closed 
to external commerce. 

Early in June the ''Alabama," Captain Semmes, after a successful cruise 
in the Southern Atlantic and Indian oceans against American merchant- 
men, returned, and put into the harbor of Cherbourg. The United States 
steamer "Kearsarge," Captain John A. Winslow, lying then at Flushing, 
immediately sailed for Cherbourg, to watch the Alabama. Captain Semmes 
repaired and refitted his ship, and twenty minutes past 10 o'clock Sunday 
morning, June 19th, sailed out of the harbor to fight the "Kearsarge.'' He 
^as accompanied by the French ironclad "Couronne," and an English yacht, 
the "Deer-hound," owned by a Mr. Lancaster. 

The Famous Cruiser Goes Dcwn. 

The two vessels were nearly equal in size and armament, the "Ala- 
bama" being larger by 120 tons, and having eight guns to the " Kearsarge's " 
seven. The latter had the more powerful engines. The crew of the 
"Kearsarge" was twenty-two ofiicers and one hundred and forty men. It 
is not known what number of men the "Alabama" had. 

This naval combat was not between two American ships. The "Ala- 
bama" was a British ship, built in England, her armament and all her 
■outfit English. Her crew were nearl}- all British sailors, her second 
lieutenant, Armstrong, being a relative of the inventor of the Armstrong 
gun. There was nothing American about her, except her name, and her 
captain, and a part of her officers. Before leaving Cherbourg, her guns were 
manned by trained and skilful artillerists, wdio were transferred from the 
Eritish practice-ship "Excellent." 

After a short engagement the " Alabama " was sunk. The crew jumped 
into the sea. The "Kearsarge" picked up sixty-nine, of whom seventeen 
•were wounded. Twelve were taken to France by two pilot-boats. The 
"Deer-hound" picked up forty-two, including Captain Semmes, and took 
them .to England. How many were killed and \vounded cannot be known. 



BATTLES ON LAND AND SEA. 



321 



The conduct of Captain Senimes, who, after striking his flag, threw his 
sword into the sea, and allowed himself to be carried off to England has 
been severel}^ censured in the United States. 

The constitution and laws required a new election of Presiderit in 18G4. 




SINKING OF the: "ALABAMA" BY THK KEARSARGE. ' 

It could not be postponed. Could it be peaceably held in the midst of war? 
Could the canvass for the rival candidates be conducted without riot and 
bloodshed amid the clash of arms? The statesmen of the old world asked 
these questions. But the people of the United States, with no more than 
the ordinary agitation of the political elements, went through the canvass 
and elected a president and vice-president. The friends of Mr. Lincoln 
proposed him as a candidate for re-election, and for the second time he 
was chosen president. 

The year 1SG4 was crowded with events, and we must go back a little 

21 



322 



BATTLES ON LAND AND SEA. 



in the order of time. In June, General Lee ascertaining that, in consequence 
of Hunter's slow retreat through the mountains of West Virginia, Mary- 
land was open to another invasion, and Washington exposed, ordered Gen- 
eral Early with 12,000 men to descend the Shenandoah Valley and threaten 

Washington. Early 



reached Martinsburg 
on July 3d, and four 
days later he occupied 
Frederick, Maryland. 

The only force to 
oppose him was a small 




;va%t"^'^'^^\ division of the Sixth 
A CYn^ 1 Army Corps, and such 



^.|*^'H^n> scattered bands as Gen 



Lewis Wallace could 
■^^iM/ collect together at Bal- 
timore. He met Early 
at a crossing of the 
Monocacy on the 8th, 
and although beaten, 
he gained considerable 
time for the 19th Army 
Corps, under General 
Wright, and the re- 
mainder of the Sixth. 
Corps, to arrive. He 
advanced on Washing- 
' ■ ton, but was repulsed 

GENERAL PHILIP H. SHERIDAN. by General Wright and 

compelled to retreat back to the Shenandoah Valley again. 

When General Grant, however, ordered the return of the Nineteenth 
and Sixth Corps to Petersburg, Early was again re-enforced, and enter- 
ing Maryland, a flying column sacked and burnt the city of Chambers- 
burg, Pennsylvania. 

General Lee, by sending a large force into the Shenandoah Valley, 
expected to induce Grant to detach from his army so large a body of men as 
to weaken his hold upon the investing lines of Petersburg and Richmond. 



BATTLES ON LAND AND SEA. 323 

But the hero of Vicksbiirg would not relax a grasp once made. He 
determined rather to destroy the Confederate force in the Shenandoah Val- 
ley. He formed a new military department, and gave the command to 
General P. H. Sheridan. General Early was encamped near Winchester, 
on the west bank of Opequan creek, and General Sheridan on the east 
side, near Berrysville. General Sheridan took command August 7, and the 
next six weeks were spent in organizing his army. 

General Grant paid him a visit August 15, and after consultation 
ordered him to attack Early. This he did on the 19th, inflicting a severe 
defeat. Early rallied his broken forces and made a stand at Fisher's Hill, 
where he was again attacked and defeated. He then retired beyond the 
passes of the Blue Ridge. Sheridan pushed his pursuit as far as Staun- 
ton, and then retiring, laid waste the valley by the destruction of all barns, 
grain, forage, farming implements and mills. Early being again re-enforced 
took the offensive. The Union forces were posted at Cedar Creek. Gen- 
eral Sheridan had gene to Washington, leaving the command to General 
Wright. By a night march Early surprised the Union camp, before day- 
light of October 19. A complete rout ensued, and the whole Union army 
retired in confusion and disorder as far as Middletown, where General 
Wright succeeded in arresting the flight and reforming his lines. 

Sheridan Suddenly Appears upon the Field. 

It was now ten o'clock a.m. At this moment General Sheridan dashed 
upon the field, and immediately ordered a counter-attack, which drove 
Early in confusion beyond Cedar Creek, the Union forces recovering their 
camps, recapturing all they had lost, and taking many prisoners. Early 
then abandoned the valley, and joined Lee at Richmond. With this cam- 
paign ended all military operations in the Shenandoah Valley. The Sixth 
Corps and two divisions of cavalry were returned to Grant at Petersburg. 

Sherman, with the consent of General Grant, undertook to march from 
Atlanta to the sea. Having collected his forces, he began by destroying 
the railroad from Atlanta to Dalton. Atlanta the prize so fiercely fought 
for, and won at such a sacrifice of life and treasure, was burnt and aban- 
doned. He divided his army into two divisions, the right under General 
Howard, and the left under General Slocum. He took with him only 
small provision and ammunition trains, intending to forage and subsist 
upon the country. 



324 



BATTLES ON LAND AND SEA. 



Two lines of railroad connect Atlanta with the seaboard, one by 
Augusta through South Carolina to Charleston, 308 miles ; the other 
through Macon and Millen to Savannah, 293 miles. Between these two 
Toads, from forty to one hundred miles apart, General Sherman marched. 




SHERIDAN'S CAVALRY CHARGE AT CEDAR CREEK. 

liis wings overlapping them. Two hundred miles of railroad were destro3^ed, 
the rails were heated and twisted, every tie, bridge, tank, wood- shed, and 
depot was burnt, and every culvert was blown up. 

All the cotton discovered was burned, about fifteen thousand bales. 
All the cattle, horses, mules, hogs, and poultry were taken, and either 



BATTLES ON LAND AND SEA. 325 

consumed ou the way, or brought to Savannah. Eight or ten thousand 
slaves followed the arnl3^ It was forbidden to burn and pillage houses, 
but this was done to some extent by stragglers. A tornado's path burnt 
by fire could not have been more destructive. The Carolinas and Virginia 
were severed from Alabama and Mississippi, and Hood and Lee could not 
again support each other. 

On the 11th of December, a dispatch from General Howard was 
received b}^ General Foster, in command on the coast. On the 12th, Fort 
McAllister, which had resisted three assaults of the monitors in 1863, was 
taken by assault by General Hazen. Preparations 'vere made to besiege 
Savannah, but General Hardee withdrew from it during the night of the 
20th, and it was occupied by Sherman the next day. His own losses on 
the march had been less than fifteen hundred men. 

Many Towns Captured. 

Anticipating General Sherman's arrival at Savannah, General Grant, 
December 6th, had issued orders to have his army put upon transports, 
and brought to the aid of General Meade. But, after learning the defeat of 
Hood by Thomas, the order was countermanded, and he was directed to 
resume his march from Savannah, through the Carolinas, to Goldsboro, 
N. C. He was ready, and began his movement January 15th. The spring 
rains had caused such an overflow of the rivers, that all the low grounds 
and swamps were submerged, and no real progress was made until the 
middle of Februar3^ 

He captured Columbia, S. C, February 17th, and March 12th he 
reached Fayetteville, N. C, when he opened communication with General 
Schofield, by way of Cape Fear river. On the 15th he resumed his march, 
and on the same day encountered and defeated a part of Johnston's forces 
at Averysboro. On the 18th, General Slocum, who led the advance, was 
attacked at Bentonville by Johnston's army, and driven back three miles, 
with the loss of three guns. General Slocum, learning that Johnston's 
whole army was in front, intrenched himself, and awaited re-enforcements. 

But, before their arrival, and on the night of the 21st, Johnston 
retreated to Smithfield, leaving his dead and wounded on the field. General 
Sherman had up to this time skilfully interposed his superior forces 
between the inferior forces of Johnston on the hills, and Hardee on the 
coast, and prevented their junction until he could unite with Schofield and 



326 BATTLES ON LAND AND SEA. 

Terry, the former from Newbern, and the latter from Wilmington. This 
junction was effected on the 22d at Goldsboro, where the army lay during 
the month of March, 

The results of this campaign were the evacuation of Charleston on 
the 18th of February^ and its occupation by General Gilmore on the 21st. 
As he marched northward, the whole coast, with all its forts, docks, and 
property, from Savannah to Newbern, fell into possession of the Federal 
troops and fleets. 

Sheridan lay in winter-quarters at Winchester until February 27th, 
when, with 10,000 cavalry, he set out for an overland journey to join 
Grant or Sherman, his instructions directing him to cross the James river, 
strike the Southside railroad at Farmville, destroy it, and seek Sherman 
at Raleigh. But after scattering Karly's small infantry force at Staunton, 
and destroying the railroad from Charlottesville to Lynchburg, and the 
James River Canal from New Market to Duiguidsville, he learned that the 
bridges across the James had been burned by the Confederates. He, there- 
fore, took another route, marched through Virginia to the White House, 
and thence across the peninsula to Jones' Landing, and joined the 
army before Petersburg. 




CHAPTER XXX. 

SURRENDER OF THE CONFEDERATE ARMY. 

I HE circle of destruction was now drawing closer and closer around 
the citadel of the Confederacy. Sherman was coming up from 
the South, and Stoneman was ready to co-operate with him, 
having crossed the mountains of Tennessee into North Caro- 
lina, destroying railroads, bridges, depots of supplies, and cap- 
turing Salisbury. 

The leaders of the Confederacy were now anxious to bring the war to 
a close. Three commissioners, among whom were Alexander H. Stephens, 
Vice-President of the Confederacy, and Senator Hunter, were charged with 
power to arrange with Union agents the terms on which peace could be 
concluded. The preliminary discussions resulted in nothing, and finally 
President Lincoln and Secretary Seward went to Fortress Monroe to con- 
tinue the negotiations. As before, the conference brought no results, Mr. 
Lincoln insisting that the only terms of peace were for those who had 
originated the war to lay down their arms. 

Lee saw the painful necessity of abandoning Richmond and uniting 
with the Southern army under Johnston. He could, at the head of the 
combined forces, maintain the contest for some time, and negotiate for 
favorable terms of peace. His best line of retreat was along the south bank 
of the Appomattox to Burkesville, and thence to Danville. Before he could 
set out it was necessary to weaken Grant's line on the left, near Hatcher's 
Run. This could be done most effectually by an assault upon some point 
near and east of Petersburg. In pursuit of this plan, on the morning of 
March 25, Fort Steadman was surprised by a night attack and taken, but 
could not be held. A counter-assault not only drove the Confederates out 
of the fort, but gained for the Union troops the strongly intrenched picket- 
line, within a few steps from the Confederate works. The attack upon 
Fort Steadman cost Lee 2500 men killed and wounded, and 1900 men 
taken prisoners. The Union loss was less than 2000. 

327 




THi: PliACJS COMMISSIONERS. 



328 



SURRENDER OF THE CONFEDERATE ARMY. 32» 

General Grant, prior to this affair, had issued orders for a general 
movement of the whole army. He had been apprehensive for weeks, every 
night when he retired to rest, that before he should awake next morning 
Lee would be gone. General Ord, at the head of four divisions of the 
Army of the James, moved out to Hatcher's Run. Other divisions, under 
Warren, Humphreys, Wright and Parke, followed the next day ; while 
Sheridan, with his cavalry, held the extreme left of the line at Dinwiddle 
Court-house. A heavy rain for two days delayed the attack. Lee had 
divined the object of his antagonist, and marshalled all his available forces 
to resist the shock upon his right. The contest opened with a fierce attack 
by Lee upon Warren, which was resisted with great bravery. 

The Main Works Assaulted and Carried. 

The battle raged furiously all the morning, but Warren held his 
ground, and finally drove Lee back to his lines on the White Oak road. 
Foiled here, Lee turned his attention to Sheridan, who, by a bold push, had 
gained Five Forks, about eight miles north of Dinwiddle. Two divisions 
of infantry, under Pickett and Bushrod Johnson, forced Sheridan's cavalry 
back towards Dinwiddle. He dismounted his men, and deployed them as 
infantrj^, and so maintained his ground till night. McKenzie's cavalry and 
the whole Fifth Corps were, during the night, ordered to join Sheridan. 
In the morning he took the offensive, hurled the Confederates back to Five 
Forks, assaulted and carried the main works, and captured about five 
thousand prisoners. 

There were now left only two strong works in the hands of the Con- 
federates. These were Forts Alexander and Gregg. Fort Alexander was 
close to the Federal line, and it was overrun and captured with a hurrah. 
This left only Fort Gregg, and for a time the fate of the Confederate 
Army of Northern Virginia depended on that ; for, if it could not be held 
until Lee had time to take a nev/ position, his army was doomed. Its 
garrison numbered two hundred and fifty. 

General Ord immediately sent Gibbons' division to storm Fort Gregg. 
It charged in fine order, but within fifty yards received such a murderous 
volley that it fell back. This repulse was so admirably made that the 
thousands of Confederates who were watching broke into ringing cheers. 
A second charge was made, and then a third; but the fourth prevailed. 
The Union troops swept over and into the works, and found that, out of 



330 



SURRENDER OF THE CONFEDERATE ARMY. 



the two hundred and fifty comprising the garrison, only thirty were unhurt. 
All the rest were killed or wounded, ___^_ ^ _^^^ 

This decided the day. But Gen. Grant, ^^^ 
fearing that Lee would abandon his lines #* - 




GALLANT DEFENSE OF FORT GREGG. 



^S^ and fall upon Sheridan with all his force, 
ordered a general bombardment of Peters- 
burg, which was continued until four 

o'clock in the morning, when an assault was made on the outer works. 

It was successful at all points. General Wright, with the Sixth Corps, 



SURRENDER OE THE CONFEDERATE ARAIY. 331 

pierced completely through, and reached the Appomattox river, thus sepa- 
rating Lee's right wing from his centre and left. The broken columns 
were pursued by General Miles to Sutherland Station, and made prisoners 
or dispersed. The Union troops now closed around Petersburg. Lee still 
tenaciously held his inner works, and even made two desperate attempts 
to retake some of the lost ground, in one of which — the last blow struck 
by the Army of Northern Virginia — fell General A. P. Hill, who had 
borne a distinguished part in all its campaigns. 

Richmond was no longer tenable, and there was but one line of retreat 
for Lee — by the Appomattox westward to Burkesville and the Danville 
line. The Fifth Corps of the Union Army" was encamped at Sutherland 
Station, on the Southside railroad, two miles west of Petersburg; and 
Sheridan's cavalry had bivouacked at Ford's, ten miles further west. 

Lee Telegraphs to Jefferson Davis. 

At ten o'clock in the forenoon of Sunday Lee telegraphed to Jefferson 
Davis that he must evacuate Richmond. The message found him in church, 
from which his sudden withdrawal made known the fatal tidings to the 
people. During the day President Davis and all the State ofi&cers, with 
the papers and coin belonging to the Confederate government, departed on 
a train for Danville. During the night the troops were quietly withdrawn 
from Petersburg and Richmond and all the fortified lines, and before morn- 
ing were sixteen miles on their way westward. 

When the rear-guard crossed the James to leave Richmond General 
Kwell gave the foolish order to set fire to the warehouses containing the 
government tobacco, and soon all the business portion of the city was 
wrapped in flames. By the light of the blazing buildings, and the sound 
of exploding shells, General Weitzel was informed of the event, and in 
the gray dawn of Monday morning forty troopers entered Richmond and 
planted their colors on the capitol. 

But General Grant did not enter the deserted cit}^ Knowing that the 
strength of the Confederate government was concentrated in Lee's army 
he bent all his energies to the pursuit. To cut off Lee, by striking the 
Richmond and Danville railroad before he could reach Burkesville, was 
his first object. For this purpose Sheridan pushed on with all speed, fol- 
lowed by the Fifth and Sixth Corps, along the South side railroad. 

Before Lee left Richmond he had sent orders to Danville to tranship 



332 SURRENDER OF THE CONFEDERATE ARMY. 

stores and rations for his army to Amelia Courthouse. When he arrived 
at that place, April 4th, he learned that the train had passed on to Rich- 
mond, leaving his army without provisions. He also learned, before he 
was ready to move, that General Sheridan had already reached Jettersville, 
seven miles west. He then turned towards Lynchburg. But General Ord, 
who had occupied Burkesville on the 6th, sent forward a small force under 
General Read to Farmville, where this gallant officer met and attacked the 
head of Lee's column, and by the sacrifice of his own life and the loss of 
most of his heroic band, detained Lee until General Ord came up with his 
whole array. General Sheridan and the Sixth and Second Corps were 
crowding upon Lee's rear, and the same day Ewell's Corps and nearly the 
whole wagon-train of the army were captured near Deatonsville. 

The Confederates in Full Retreat. 

The next day, the 7th, Lee crossed the Appomattox near Farmville, 
and ordered the bridges to be burned behind him. So vigorous, however, 
was the pursuit that General Humphreys was in time to save the wagon- 
bridge, and all but four spans of the railroad-bridge. The Union troops 
crossed immediately. But during the night Lee marched towards Appo- 
mattox Courthouse, hoping to reach Appomattox Station on the Lynchburg 
railroad. It was his only hope of escape. 

In the meantime General Grant had, on the Tth, demanded, in a letter 
to General Lee, the surrender of his army. Lee courteously asked what 
terms would be granted. Grant replied that the only conditions would be 
that the men and officers should be disqualified from ever again taking up 
arms against the United States. Lee declined to surrender, but proposed 
to meet Grant to confer upon the restoration of peace. To this suggestion 
Grant replied that he had no authority to treat on the subject of peace. 
Grant's last letter was dated the 9th, and before it reached Lee the time 
for parley had gone by. 

Sheridan, by a rapid march of thirty miles on the 8th, had reached 
Appomattox Station in the evening, just as Lee's vanguard arrived. Four 
trains of cars from Lynchburg, with supplies for Lee's army, were approach- 
ing. Sheridan threw a force in rear of the trains, captured them, and 
then attacking the vanguard, drove it back to Appomattox Court-house. 
Lee could now escape only by breaking through Sheridan's lines. This 
he attempted in the morning. He ordered his remnant of an arm}'- — eight 



SURRENDER OF THE CONFEDERATE ARMY. 333 

or ten thousand men — in battle array, to cut their way through at all 
hazards. The attack was begun with zeal and impetuosit}-, and the 
Federal cavalry gave way; but, just at this moment, General Sheridan, 
who had been to Appomattox Station to hurry up the Army of the James, 
came upon the field. 

He directed his troopers to fall back gradually, resisting slightly, to 
give time for the infantry to come up and form into line. No sooner did 
the Confederates see the line of advancing bayonets than they began, to 
give ground. Sheridan then gave the order to mount, and placing his 
cavalry on the left flank, was about to charge on the trains and the 
unarmed and confused mass, when a white flag emerged from the Confed- 
erate lines, bearing a letter from Lee to Grant, requesting a suspension of 
hostilities and an interview. K"idently, a matter of importance was on hand. 

Liberal Terms of Surrender. 

In an old farm-house the two generals met, and on a plain deal table 
drew up the form of agreement by which the Army of Northern Virginia 
ceased to exist. 

The terms of surrender were liberal. Nothing was exacted to humiliate 
the discomfited foe. Three days afterwards the Confederates marched to a 
designated place, near Appomattox Court-house, stacked their arms, and laid 
down their accoutrements. The number of armed men was 8000, and the 
unarmed about 20,000. Paroles were then accepted, and the men then 
dispersed to their several homes. The Union troops slowly retraced their 
steps to Richmond. 

Having put his arm}^ in camp at Goldsboro, General Sherman made a 
flying visit to City Point, where he had an interview with General Grant, 
who disclosed his plans, and directed Sherman to return to Goldsboro, and 
move against Raleigh as soon as April 10th. The stirring news of Grant's 
success reached him while still at Goldsboro. He immediately set his 
columns in motion, occupied Raleigh April 13th, and the next day entered 
into correspondence with General Johnston, which resulted in a suspension 
of hostilities, and a memorandum, or basis for peace, subject to the approval 
of the President. 

The agreement did not arrive at Washington until President Lincoln 
was succeeded by ]\Ir. Johnson, who disapproved it, and dispatched General 
Grant with instruction to General Sherman to terminate the truce, and 



SURRENDER OF THE CONFEDERATE ARMY. 335 

commence operations against Johnston. The Confederate general made no 
further resistance ; but agreed to surrender on the same terms accorded to 
General Lee. The Confederate troops grounded their arms, accepted paroles, 
and dispersed to their homes, while Sherman's soldiers continued their 
march through Richmond to Washington, where, after a grand review, they 
were honorably dismissed to their several states. 

The Confederates, after the capture of the forts at the mouth of Mobile 
Bay, still held the city of Mobile. On the 20th of March General Canby 
moved against the city. The troops collected at the forts sailed up the 
bay. A force under Major-General Steele marched from Pensacola. Spanish 
Fort was occupied by the combined forces on the 8tli of April, and Fort 
Blakely carried by assault on the 9th. Two days later the city was 
evacuated, and on the 12th General Canby took possession. 

Closing Scenes of the War. 

The last wasteful raid of the war was that of General Wilson, who, 
with 12,500 mounted men, marched from Chickasaw, Alabama, to Macon, 
Georgia. On the 1st of April he encountered General Forrest at Ebenezer 
Church, and defeated him. On the 2d he took by assault the fortified city 
of Selma, destroyed the armory, arsenal, naval foundry, machine shops, vast 
quantities of stores, and captured 3000 prisoners. On the 4th he destoyed 
Tallahassee. On the 14th he reached Montgomery. On the 16th he cap- 
tured Columbus and West Point, destroying and taking an immense amount 
of property. On the 20th he took possession of Macon, Georgia, with sixty 
field guns, 1200 militia, and five generals, surrendered by General Howell 
Cobb. On the 4th of May General Dick Taylor surrendered to General 
Canby all the remaining Confederate forces east of the Mississippi. 

An army sufficient to overcome General Kirby Smith in Texas was 
organized, and immediately put in motion for Texas, with General Sheridan 
placed in command. General Smith, not waiting for an attack, surrendered 
all the Confederate troops in Texas to General Canby on the 26th of May; 
but exhibited the bad faith of first disbanding most of his army, and per- 
mitting an indiscriminate plunder of public property. This was the closing 
act of the war. 

When the Confederate president left Richmond, April 2d, he went to 
Danville, Virginia, and there, on the 5th, issued a proclamation, in which 
there is a mingled tone of confidence and defiance, based upon his expecta- 



336 SURRENDER OF THE CONFEDERATE ARMY. 

tion that General Lee would escape from Grant, and unite his army with 
that of General Johnston. But the surrender of both those generals dashed 
his hopes to the ground. With a small body of cavalry as an escort, he 
attempted to thread his way through ths Federal lines, reach the coast of 
Plorida, and escape on some vessel. He got as far as Irwinsville, Georgia, 
^vhen he was overtaken by a squadron of the Fourth Michigan cavalry, and 
captured, May 11th, with his family. He was removed to Fortress Monroe, 
where he was finally paroled, as were the Confederate troops. The United 
States government magnanimously declined to condemn and execute any of 
the officers or men who had been engaged in the attempt to set up 
an independent government. 

The terms of the surrender were arranged on the 9th of April. On 
the 12th the Army of Northern Virginia formed in divisions for the last 
time, and marching to a designated spot near Appomattox Court house, laid 
down its arms, and disbanded. x'Vbout seventy-five hundred men with arms, 
and about eighteen thousand unarmed stragglers, took part in the surrender. 
The Federal troops treated their vanquished opponents with true soldierly 
tindness, and carefully refrained from everything which might seem to 
insult the valor that had won their earnest admiration. 




CHAPTER XXXI. 

ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 

N the 4th of March, 1865, Mr. Lincoln was sworn into office for 
a second term, before Chief-Jnstice Chase. His iuangural 
address was pervaded by a deep religious feeling. He took a 
^/r hopeful view of the future, but ventured upon no promises or 
predictions. The fate of the nation is in the hands of God, 
who governs the world according to His own purposes. The address con- 
cludes as follows : " With malice towards none, with charity for all, with 
firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to 
finish the work we are in ; to bind up the nation's wounds ; to care for 
him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan ; 
to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and listing peace among 
ourselves, and with all nations." 

On the 8th of March, he rescinded an order which required passports 
from all persons entering the United States from Canada. This order had 
been issued December 17. 1864, in consequence of the gathering of many 
Confederates in Canada, their threatened raids into the country, and the 
facility with which spies and hostile persons could cross the frontier, travel 
from place to place, avoid detection, and escape apprehension. 

In the progress of the war, large numbers of soldiers had deserted, 
and subjected themselves to court-martial, and the penalt}' of death. Mr. 
Lincoln, in compliance with an act of Congress, also issued a proclamation 
giving them sixty days in which to return, otherwise they would be con- 
sidered as having forfeited their rights of citizenship, and be forever 
incapable of exercising any rights of citizenship 

He knew that General Grant was intending to move against Richmond, 
and went to City Point to be present at what bath thought would be the 
final and successful struggle. He went into Richmond the day after its 
occupation b}^ the Union troops. He there had an interview with Judge 
Campbell, who urged him to permit the assembling of the Virginia Legis- 
lature. On the 6th day of April, he wrote to General Weitzel, directing 

22 337 



338 ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 

him to permit them to meet, and sit until they might attempt some act 
hostile to the United States. He subsequently recalled his permission. 

The President returned to Washington, and on the evening of the 
11th of April, the Presidential mansion and all the other public buildings 
in Washington were illuminated, in honor of the surrender of General Lee 
and his army. To the people, who assembled to congratulate him, he 
made the last address that fell from his lips, in which he briefly discussed 
the subject of the restoration of the States to the Union. He dwelt prin- 
cipally upon the State government in Louisiana in 1863, and defended his 
conduct. But he said that he was not inseparately wedded to any plan. 
He added : " So great peculiarities pertain to each State, and such important 
and sudden changes occur in the same State ; and, withal, so new and 
unprecedented is the whole case, that an exclusive and inflexible plan 
would surely become a new entanglement." 

United States Authority Re-established. 

He did not think it wise to discuss the question whether the seceded 
States, so called, were in or out of the Union. He thought it a pernicious 
abstraction. He said : " We all agree that the seceded States, so called^ 
are out of their political relation with the Union, and that the sole object 
of the government, civil and military, in regard to those States, is again 
to get them into that proper practical relation. I believe that it is not 
only possible, but in fact easier, to do this without deciding, or even con- 
sidering, whether these States have ever been out of the Union, than with 
it. Finding themselves safely at home, it would be utterly immaterial 
whether they had ever been abroad." 

Believing the war to be substantially ended, proclamation was made 
closing all the Southern ports, and claiming to exercise over them the 
same authority as over other ports of the United States, and declaring that 
ships of war belonging to foreign nations would receive in ports of the 
United States the same treatment which was given in their ports to cruisers 
of the United States. Orders were issued to stop recruiting for the army 
and navy, to make no more contracts for supplies, and no more purchases 
of war material. 

Mr. Lincoln naturally felt the elation which follows success. It was 
apparent in his gait, in his face, in his talk. The events of the last 
month lifted a burden from his mind, and inspired him with new life. 



ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN 339 

The cares and perplexities, the labors and responsibilities of office had 
borne heavily upon him. That his election had been made the occasion of 
secession and rebellion; that his whole term of four years had been one of 
civil war ; that thousands of his fellow-citizens had fallen in the fratricidal 
contest, had sorely afflicted his generous and placable spirit. His tall 
form, that had bent slightly before the storm, was now again erect. The 
sadness that had settled upon his countenance was dispersed by the sun- 
rise of peace. 

If he had pushed the war resolutely and sternly, if he had refused to 
listen to any proposition that looked to a broken Union and disrupted ter- 
ritory, it was from a conviction of duty and with a determination to trans- 
mit to his successor the constitution unimpaired and the country undi- 
minished. His triumph was certain and his ambition satisfied. The war 
had not embittered his feelings. He loved his friends, and did not hate his 
enemies. He did not speak of crime and punishment ; his thoughts dwelt 
upon reconciliation and forgiveness. It was his intention to temper justice 
with mercy, and to spend his second term in healing the wounds that had 
been given and received during the first. 

The Victim of a Foul Conspiracy. 

His life had been threatened in anonymous letters. He had been often 
warned to beware of assassination ; but he could never be persuaded to 
harbor the suspicions, nor take the precautions of a tyrant. His house 
was unguarded, his person was unattended, and he went from place to place, 
to public offices and private houses, to the church, to the theatre, like 
auy citizen. He showed neither fear nor distrust. He was accessible 
and affable to all. 

And yet this good man, whose heart at the time was going out in 
mercy and kindness to his enemies, was the victim of a foul conspiracy. 
The conspirators only waited for the place and occasion. Mr. Lincoln, 
oppressed with the cares of state, had occasionally sought relief in recrea- 
tion in the theatre. He had been invited, and consented to attend Ford's 
theatre on the evening of the 14th of April. 

While he was seated in a private box, with his family and friends 
around him, absorbed in the mimic representation of the stage, the assassin 
stealthily entered the box, fastened the door with a board previously pre- 
pared for the purpose, so that he could not be followed, and with a Der- 



340 ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 

ringer pistol shot his unconscious victim behind the ear, the ball penetrat- 
ing the brain. Mr. Lincoln's head fell back upon the chair, and his body 
remained motionless. He was removed to a house near by and attended 
by surgeons. The wound was mortal. He did not speak after it, but 
sank gradually until twenty-two minutes after seven o'clock in the morn- 
ing, when he expired. 

The body was embalmed and lay in state in the Green Room of the 
Presidential mansion, inclosed in a splendid coffin, and within a grand cata- 
falque, until the 19th of April. The funeral was observed on that day, 
and it was set apart throughout the country as a day of mourning. The 
body w^as removed to the Rotunda of the Capitol, and for two days lay in 
state, and was visited by more than twenty-five thousand people. The next 
day it was placed on the car prepared for it, and borne to Springfield, 111., 
by the same route over which Mr. Lincoln came on his way to Washing- 
ton to enter upon his office. 

Demonstrations of Profound Sorrow. 

Bverywhere on the route the funeral cortege was received with demon- 
strations of respect and grief. The engines and cars on all the railroads 
were hung with crape ; churches were draped in mourning ; the buildings 
on all the principal streets in every village and city were festooned in 
black ; nearly all citizens of both sexes wore some funeral emblem. Bvery- 
where the national flag waved at half-mast. Wherever the cortege stopped 
thousands thronged to obtain a last look at the face of the dead. The 
nation was profoundly grieved. No man, whether monarch, statesman, 
martyr or public benefactor, was every more widely or sincerely mourned, 
and by none was his sudden death more deeply lamented and regretted 
than by those who had stood towards him for four years in the attitude 
of enemies. 

The funeral train arrived in Springfield, 111., on the od of Ma}-. The 
corpse was carried to the State House and placed in the Hall of Repre- 
sentatives. The people came into the city from every direction, and more 
than seventy-five thousand persons passed into the hall, gazed a moment at 
the familiar features, and went weeping away. The next morning the 
coffin was finally closed at ten o'clock and the body, followed by the pro- 
cession, under the charge of Major-General Hooker, was carried to Oak 
Ridge Cemetery and deposited in the tomb. 



ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN 



341 



,/n- ^ 



The assassination of President Lincoln called forth letters of grief and 
condolence from all foreign countries. Queen Victoria wrote a letter of 
sympathy to Mrs. Lincoln. The ruler of every nation of Europe expressed 
his horror at the deed. China, Japan and Siam sent words of condolence. 
Nor was the grief of Europe expressed alone in the courtly customary 

verbiage of di- 
plomacy. The 
people were af- 
flicted and in- 
tensely stirred. 
They regarded 
Mr. Lincoln as 
the representa- 
tive of their 
class, and had 
broadly studied 
his character 
and watched his 
career. His suc- 
cess had always 
claimed their 
admiration, and 
his wisdom and 
goodness had 
won their love. 
His life would 
be an ever-liv^ 

THE GRAVE OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. iugdeuialof the 

rights of legitimacy, and the divinity of kings, the claim of many centuries. 
Even in the South, which had made the election of Abraham Lincoln 
the occasion of the dissolution of the Union, the unaffected and manly 
virtues of this simply great man had conquered the people, who had come 
to regard him as their best and truest friend. 

His death was sincerely lamented there, and in the lamentation of the 
South, Abraham Lincoln had his proudest triumph. His death was a 
crushing misfortune to the whole country. He was the only man capable 
of carrying out a policy of generous conciliation towards the South, and 




342 ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 

he had resolved upon such a course. He was sincerely desirous to heal 
the wounds of the war as soon as possible, and was strong enough to 
put down all opposition to his policy. His untimely death, as well as 
the manner of it, threw back the settlement of our national troubles 
fully five years. 

As he leaped from the president's box to the stage the assassin's foot 
caught in an American flag with which the box was draped, and he fell 
heavily, breaking his leg. He managed to escape, however. It was imme- 
diately ascertained that the assassin was John Wilkes Booth, a younger son 
of the famous actor, Junius Brutus Booth. Almost at the same time that 
the President was shot another assassin, one Payne, alias Powell, entered 
the residence of Secretary Seward. Proceeding to the chamber where the 
Secretary was confined to a sick bed, he attacked the two attendants of the 
invalid and his son, Frederick W. Sew^ard, and injured them severely, and 
then attempted to cut Mr. Seward's throat. He succeeded in gashing the 
face of his intended victim, but fled before further harm could be done. 

Why the Plot Failed. 

Booth, who most probably was insane, had drawn quite a number of 
persons into a conspiracy, which had for its object the murder of the 
President and Vice-President, Secretaries Seward and Stanton, and Chief 
Justice Chase. The plot failed through unexpected movements of some of 
the intended victims and the cowardice of some of the conspirators. Booth 
and a young man named Harold fled into lower Maryland, from which they 
crossed the Potomac into Virginia. They were pursued by the government 
detectives and a squadron of cavalry, and were tracked to a barn in Caro- 
line County, Virginia, between Bowling Green and Port Royal. 

Here they were surrounded on the 26th of April. Harold surrendered 
himself, but Booth, refusing to yield, was shot by Sergeant Boston Corbett, 
and died a few hours later, after suflering intensely. His accomplices were 
arrested, and were brought to trial before a military commission at Wash- 
ington. Payne or Powell, Atzerot, Harold, and Mrs. Surratt were condemned 
to death, and were hanged on the 7th of July, 1865, for complicity in the 
plot. Dr. Mudd, O'Laughlin, and Arnold were imprisoned in the Dry 
Tortugas for life, and Spangler for six years. 

What Booth expected to accomplish by his horrible deed 3'et remains 
a mystery. It is now generally believed that he was insane ; rendered so 



ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 



343 



perhaps by liis dissipated habits — and in this state of mind had conceived 
the idea that Mr. Lincoln was a tyrant, and as such ought to be put to 
death. He had no accomplices in the South, and his bloody deed was 
regarded with horror by the southern people. 




CAPTURE OF BOOTH, THE ASSASSIN OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 

We must now return to Sherman's army, which we left resting at 
Goldsboro. Johnston's army was in the vicinity of Raleigh, and after the 
fall of Richmond was joined by \lr. Davis and the various officers of the 
Confederate government. On the 10th of April Sherman advanced from 



344 ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LIN CO IN. 

Goldsboro towards Jolinson's position, and steadily pressed the Confederate 
army back. On the 13th Sherman entered Raleigh. Being convinced that 
further resistance was hopeless, and having learned of the surrender of 
General Lee's ami}/, General Johnston now opened negotiations with General 
Sherman for the surrender of his army to the Federal commander. 

The result of these negotiations was an agreement signed by the two 
commanders on the 18th of April. /Vs this agreement provided for the 
restoration of the States of the Confederacy to their lost places in the 
Union, it was disapproved by the Federal government, and Sherman was 
ordered to resume hostilities. General Johnston was at once notified by 
General Sherman of this order, and on the 2Gth of April entered into an 
agreement with him by which he surrendered to General Sherman all the 
Confederate forces under his command on terms similar to those granted 
to General Lee by General Grant. 

The Last to Surrender. 

The example of Generals Lee and Johnston was followed by the other 
Confederate commanders throughout the South. The last to surrender was 
General E. Kirby Smith, in Texas, on the 2Gth of May. On the 29th of 
May President Johnson issued a proclamation announcing the close of the 
war, and offering amnesty to all who had participated in it on the Con- 
federate side, with the exception of fourteen specified classes. 

Upon the surrender of Johnston's army Mr. Davis and the members 
of his former cabinet endeavored to make their way to the coast of Florida, 
from which they hoped to be able to reach the West Indies. Some of 
them succeeded in doing so; but Mr. Davis was captured at Irwinsville, 
Georgia, on the 10th of May, and was sent as a prisoner to Fortress Mon- 
roe, where he was held in confinement until May, 1867. 

The civil war was over. It had cost the countr}^ one million men in 
the killed and crippled for life of the two armies. In money the North 
and South had expended probably $5,000,000,000. The exact amount will 
never be known, as the Confederate debt perished with that government. 

Upon the death of Mr. Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, the Vice-President, 
by the terms of the Constitution, became President of the United States. 
He took the oath of office on the loth of April, and at once entered upon 
the discharge of his duties. His first act was to retain all the members 
of the cabinet appointed by Mr. Lincoln. 



ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 



345 



Mr. Johnson was a native of North Carolina, having been born in 
Raleigh on the 29th of December, 1808. At the age of ten he was bound 
as an apprentice to a tailor of that city. He was at this time unable to 
read or write. Some years later, being determined to acquire an education, 
he learned the al- 



phabet from a fel- 
low-workman, and 
a friend taught 
him spelling. He 
was soon able to 
read, and pursued 
his studies stead- 
ily, working ten or 
twelve hours a day 
at his trade, and 
studying two or 
three more. In 
1826 he removed 
to Greenville, Ten- 
nessee, carrying 
with him his mo- 
ther, who was de- 
pendent upon him 
for support. 

Upon attaining 
manhood he mar- 
ried, and continued 
his studies under 
the direction of 
his wife, support- 
ing his family in Andrew johnson. 

the meantime by his trade. He was subsequently chosen alderman of his 
town, and, with this election, entered upon his political career. Studying 
law he abandoned tailoring, and devoted himself to legal pursuits and 
politics. He was successivel}'- chosen mayor, member of the legislature, 
presidential elector, and State senator. He was twice elected governor of 
Tennessee, and three times a senator of the United States from that State. 




346 ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 

Upon the secession of Tennessee from the Union he refused to relinquish 
his seat in the Senate, and remained faithful to the cause of the Union 
throughout the war, winning considerable reputation during the struggle 
by his services in behalf of the national cause. 

He was an earnest, honest-hearted man, who sincerely desired to do 
his duty to the country. His mistakes were due to his temperament, and 
proceeded from no desire to serve his own interests or those of any party. 
In his public life he was incorruptible. A man of ardent nature, strong 
convictions and indomitable will, it was not possible that he should avoid 
errors, or fail to stir up a warm and determined opposition to his policy. 

Soldiers Return to their Homes. 

The first duty devolving upon the new administration was the dis- 
banding of the army, which, at the close of the war, numbered over a 
million men. It was prophesied by foreign nations, and feared by many 
persons at home, that the sudden return of such a large body of men to 
the pursuits of civil life would be attended with serious evils, but both the 
Union and Confederate soldiers went back quietly and readily to their old 
avocations. Thus did these citizen-soldiers give to the world a splendid 
exhibition of the triumph of law and order in a free country, and a proof 
of the stability of our institutions. 

On the 29th of March, 1867, a treaty was concluded between the 
United States and Russia, b}^ which the latter power sold to the United 
States, for the sum of seven million two hundred thousand dollars, all of 
the region in the extreme northwestern part of the American continent 
known as Russian America. The treaty was ratified by the Senate on the 
9th of April. The new territory added to the area of the United States a 
district of about five hundred and seventy-seven thousand three hundred 
and ninety square miles. 

In the same year a treaty was negotiated with China, through an 
embassy from that country, which visited the United States under the 
charge of Anson Burlingame, formerly the American Minister to China. 
It was the first instance in which that exclusive nation had ever sought 
to negotiate a treaty of commerce and friendship with a foreign nation. 
Liberty of conscience to Americans in China, protection of their prop- 
erty and persons, and important commercial privileges were secured 
by this treaty. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 



ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT GRANT. 




)N the fall of 18G8, the Presidential election was held. The Repub- 
lican party nominated General Ulysses S. Grant, the commanding- 
general of the army, for the Presidency, and Schuyler Colfax, of 
Indiana, for the Vice-Presidency. The Democratic party nomi- 
nated Horatio Seymour, of New York, for the Presidency, and 

Frank P. Blair, of Missouri, for the Vice-Presidency. The election resulted 

in the choice of General Grant, by a popular vote of 2,985,031, to 2,648,830 

votes cast for Mr. Seymour. In 

the electoral college. Grant received 

two hundred and seventeen votes, 

and Se3^mour seventy-seven. The 

States of Virginia, Mississippi and 

Texas were not allowed to take 

part in this election, being still out 

of the Union. 

General Grant, the eighteenth 

President of the United States, was 

inaugurated at Washington with 

imposing ceremonies, on the 4th 

of March, 18G9. He was born at 

Mount Pleasant, Ohio, on the 27th 

of April, 1822. His father was a 

tanner, and wished him to follow 

his trade, but the boy had more 

ambitious hopes, and, at the age of 

seventeen, a friend secured for him an appointment as a cadet at West 

Point, where he was educated. Upon graduating, he entered the army. 

Two 3'ears later he was sent to Mexico, and served through the war with 

that country with distinction. He was specially noticed by his commanders, 

and was promoted for gallant conduct. 

347 




ULYSSES S. GRANT. 



348 ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT GRANT. 

Soon after the close of the Avar, he resigned his commission, and 
remained in civil life and obscurity until the breaking out of the Civil 
War, when he volunteered his services, and was commissioned by Gov- 
ernor Yates, colonel of the Twenty-first Illinois regiment. He was soon 
made a brigadier-general, and fought his first battle at Belmont. His sub- 
sequent career has already been related in these pages. 

In February, 18G9, the two houses of Congress adopted the fifteenth 
amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and submitted it to 
the various States for ratification by them. It was in the following words : 
" The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied 
or abridged by the United States, or any State, on account of race, color^ 
or previous condition of servitude." 

A Great Railroad Across the Continent. 

The next important event of this year was the opening of the Pacific 
railroad, from the Missouri river to the Pacific Ocean. The eastern 
division of this road is known as the Union Pacific railwa}-, and was begun 
at Omaha, Neb., in December, 1863, and carried westward. But little 
progress was made in the work until 1805, when it was pushed rapidly 
forward. The western division, known as the Central Pacific railway, was 
begun at San Francisco, near about the same time, and carried eastward 
across the Sierra Nevada. The two roads unite at Ogden, near Salt Lake 
City, in Utah, and the union was accomplished on the 10th of May, 1869, 
on which day the last rail was laid. The Union Pacific railway, from 
Omaha to Ogden, is one thousand and thirty-two miles in length ; the Cen- 
tral Pacific, from Ogden to San Francisco, eight hundred and eight-two 
miles ; making a total line of nineteen hundred and fourteen miles, and 
constituting by far the most important railway enterprise in the world. 

By the completion of this great road, to the construction of which the 
general government contributed liberally in money and lands, Portland, 
Me., and San Francisco, the extremes of the continent, are brought within 
a week's travel. The long and difficult journey across the plains has been 
dispensed with, and the traveller may now pass over this once terrible and 
dangerous route with speed and safety, enjoying all the while the highest 
comforts of the most advanced civilization. 

On the night of Sunday, October 8, 1871, a fire broke out in the city 
of Chicago, and raged with tremendous violence for two days, laying the 



ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT GRANT 



349 



greater part of the cit}' in ashes. It was the most destructive conflagra- 
tion of modern times. The total area of the city burned over was two 
thousand one hundred and twenty-four acres, or very nearly three and one- 
third square miles. The number of buildings destroyed was seventeen 
thousand four hundred and fifty. About two hundred and fifty jDersons 
died from various causes during the conflagration, and ninety-eight thou- 
sand persons were rendered homeless by it. The entire business quarter 




THE BURNING OF CHICAGO. 

was destroyed. The actual loss will never be known. As far as it can be 
ascertained, it was about one hundred and ninety-six millions of dollars. 

Almost simultaneous with this disaster extensive forest fires swept over 
the woods of Wisconsin, Minnesota and ]\Iichigan. Whole villages were 
destroyed by the flames, which travelled with such speed that it was often 
impossible for the fleetest horse to escape from them. Over fifteen hun- 
dred people perished in Wisconsin alone. 

These terrible calamities aroused the generous sj^mpath}^ of the rest of 



350 



ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT GRANT. 



tlie country, and aid in money, clothing and the necessities of life was 
liberally extended to the sufferers in Chicago and the other afflicted com- 
munities. The telegraph flashed the news across the Atlantic, and in an 
almost incredibly short time liberal contributions in money came pour- 
ing in from England and continental Europe, and even from the far-off 
cities of India. 

In the fall of 1872 the Presidential election occurred. The canvass 

was marked by the most in- 
tense partisan bitterness. The 
Republican party renominated 
General Grant for the Presi- 
dency, and supported Henry 
Wilson for the Vice-Presidency. 
The measures of the admini- 
stration had arrayed a large 
number of Republicans against 
it. These now organized them- 
selves as the Liberal Republican 
party, and nominated Horace 
Greeley, of New York, for the 
Presidency, and B. Gratz Brown, 
of Missouri, for the Vice-Presi- 
dency. The Democratic party 
made no nominations, and its 
convention endorsed the candi- 
dates of the Liberal Republican 
HORACE GREELEY. party. The election resulted 

in the triumph of the Republican candidates by overwhelming majorities^ 
The elections were scarcely over, when the country was saddened by 
the death of Horace Greeley. He had been one of the founders of the 
Republican party, and had been closely identified with the political history 
of the country for over thirty years. He was the " Founder of the New 
York Tribune'^'' and had done good service with his journal in behalf of 
the cause he believed to be founded in right. 

He was a man of simple and child-like character, utterly unaffected, 
and generous to a fault. In his manner and dress he was eccentric, but 
nature had made him a true gentleman at heart. His intellectual ability 




ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT GRANT. 351 

was conceded by all. His experience in public life, and his natural dis- 
position, induced him to favor a policy of conciliation in the settlement of 
the reconstruction question, and, influenced by these convictions, he signed 
the bail-bond of Jefferson Davis, and secured the release of the fallen 
leader of the South from his imprisonment. 

This act cost him a large part of his popularity in the North. He 
accepted the Presidential nomination of the Liberal party, in the belief 
that his election would aid in bringing about a better state of feeling 
between the North and the South. He was attacked by his political 
opponents with a bitterness which caused him much suffering, and many 
of his old friends deserted him, and joined in the warfare upon him. Just 
before the close of the canvass, his wife, to whom he was tenderly attached, 
died, and his grief for her, and the excitement and sorrow caused him by 
the political contest, broke down his firmness and unsettled his mind. He 
was conveyed by his friends to a private asylum, where he died on the 
29th of November, 1872, in the sixty-second year of his age. 

Destructive Fire in Boston. 

On the 9th of November, 1872, a fire occurred in Boston, and burned 
until late on the 10th, sweeping over an area of sixty-five acres in the 
centre of the wholesale trade of the city, and destroying property to the 
amount of seventy-eight million dollars. As this fire was confined to the 
business quarter of the city, comparatively few persons were deprived 
of their homes. 

On the 4th of March, 1873, President Grant was inaugurated a second 
time, at Washington, with great pomp. Twelve thousand troops took part 
in the procession, which escorted him to the capitol. 

Early in 1873, a troublesome war began with the Modoc Indian tribe, 
on the Pacific coast. These Indians had been removed by the government 
from their old homes in California to reservations in the northern part of 
Oregon. They at length became dissatisfied with their new location, which 
they declared was unable to afford them a support, and began a series of 
depredations upon the settlements of the whites, which soon drew upon 
them the vengeance of the Federal government. 

Troops were sent against them, but they retreated to their fastnesses 
in the lava beds, where they maintained a successful resistance for several 
months. The government at length reinforced the troops operating against 



362 ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT GRANT 

them, and General Canby, commaiidiiig the department of the Pacific 
assumed the immediate command of the troops in the field. 

At the same time a commission was appointed 
by the government to endeavor to settle =ji 

the quarrel with the Indians peaceabh-. 

This commission held several con- ^^^^» 

ferences with Captain Jack, the .t; ^^ :™^\ 




ATTACK BY MODOCS ON THE PEACE 
COMMISSIONERS. 

head chief of the Alodocs, and the 

other Indian leaders, but accomplished 

nothing. At length the commissioners 

and General Canby agreed to meet the 

Indians in the lava beds, a short distance in advance of the lines of the troops. 

They went unarmed and without an escort. While the conference was in 

progress, the Indians suddenly rose upon the commissioners, and killed all 



ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT GRANT. 



353 




OBVERSE OF CEXTEXNIAL MEDAL. 



but one, who managed to escape with severe wounds. General Canb}^ was 
shot down at the same time, and died instantl3\ 

The Indians at once fled to their strongholds amid the rocks. The 
troops, infuriated by the murder of their commander, closed in upon them 
from all sides, and shut them in the lava beds. Their position M-as one 
which a handful of men might defend against 
an army, and the}^ held it with a desperate 
determination. They were dislodged finally 
by the shells of the American guns, and such 
as were not killed were captured. Captain 
Jack and his associates in the murder of 
General Canby and the commissioners were 
tried b}^ court-martial and sentenced to death. 
They were hanged in the presence of their 
countr3^men and of the troops on the 3d of 
October, 1873. 

The 3'ear 1875 completed the period of 
one hundred 3^ears from the opening of the 
revolution, and the events of 1775 were cele- 
brated with appropriate commemorative cere- 
monies in the places where the3'^ occurred. 
The centennial anniversary of the battles at 
Ivcxington and Concord was celebrated at 
those places on the 19th of April, with great 
rejoicings. On the 17th of June the centen- 
nial of Bunker Hill was celebrated at Charles- 
town. Vast crowds were present from all 
parts of the country. 

One of the most gratifying features of 
the celebration was the presence and hearty R^^^^erse of centennial medal. 
participation in the ceremonies of a large number of troops from the 
Southern States. Nearl3^ all of these had served in the Confederate 
arm3', and their presence in the metropolis of New England was an 
emphatic proof that the Union has indeed been restored. The memor3^ of 
the common glory won b3^ the fathers of the republic has alread3' done 
much to heal the wounds and obliterate the scars of the civil war. May 
the good work go on. 

23 





:rA 



ADMINISTRAIION OF PRESIDENT GRANT. 355 

As early as 1872 measures were set on foot for the proper observance 
of the one hundredth anniversary of the independence of the United States. 
It was resolved to commemorate the close of the first century of the republic 
by an international exhibition, to be held at Philadelphia in 187G, in which 
all the nations of the world were invited to participate. Preparations were 
at once set on foot for the great celebration. 

The Europeans governments with great cordiality responded to ths 
invitations extended to them by the government of the United States, and 
on the 10th of Ala}-, 18TG, the International Centennial Exhibition was 
opened with the most imposing ceremonies, in the presence of an immense 
concourse of citizens from all parts of the Union, and of the President of 
the United States and the Emperor of Brazil. The exhibition remained 
open from May 10th to November 10th, 187G, and was visited by several 
million people from the various States of the Union, from Canada, South 
America and Europe. It was one of the grandest and most notable events 
of the century, and illustrated our country's progress. 

The exhibition was held in the city of Philadelphia,, which, as it was 
the nation's birthplace, was the most appropriate site for the centennial 
commemoration. Multitudes of people visited Independence Hall, Carpen- 
ter's Hall, and other objects of interest associated with the country's history. 
The year witnessed a great revival of the patriotic spirit, as well as showing 
the vast and rapid strides made by the republic in every department of 
science and industry during the centur}-. The exhibition was also service- 
able in extending our commercial relations with foreign countries and 
opening markets for American products. 




CHAPTER XXXIII. 

ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 

UTHERFORD B. HAYES, the nineteentli President of the 
United States, was publicly inaugurated at Washington on 
Monda}^, Alarch 5th, 1877. As the 4th of March fell on Sun- 
day, the President-elect simpl}^ took the oath of office on that 
day. The inaugural ceremonies were carried out on the 5th 
at the Capitol with the usual pomp and parade, and in the presence of an 
enormous multitude of citizens and visiting military organizations from all 
parts of the country. After the customary reception by the Senate, the 
new President was escorted to the eastern portico of the Capitol, where he 
delivered his inaugural address to the assembled multitude, after which 
the oath of office was publicly administered to him by Chief Justice Waite. 
The new President was a native of Ohio, having been born at Dela- 
ware, in that State, on the 4th of October, 18'22. He graduated at Kenyon 
College, Gambier, Ohio, and obtained his professional education at the 
Cambridge Law School. He began the practice of the law at Cincinnati 
in 1856. I-Je was shortly afterwards made Cit}^ Solicitor, which office he 
held until the beginning of the civil war in 18G1. 

Soon after the opening of the war he enlisted in che Twenty-third 
Ohio Volunteers, with wdiich regiment he served as major, lieutenant- 
colonel and colonel. He led his regiment, which formed a part of General 
Reno's division, at the battle of South Mountain, in September, 1862, and 
and was severely wounded in the arm in that engagement. 

In the fall of 18G2 he was made colonel of the regiment, and in 1864 
was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general of volunteers "for gallant 
and meritorious services in the battles of Winchester, Fisher's Hill and 
Cedar Creek," and was bre vetted major-general " for gallant and distin- 
guished services during the campaigns of 1864 in West Virginia, and 
particularly in the battles of Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek." At the 
time of this last promotion he was in command of a division. He served 
until the close of the war, receiving four wounds and having five horses 
356 




o 
o 



Pq 



CQ 

I— I 
P 

O 
CO 




O 

m 

CO 

I— I 

o 

ca 



ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 



357 



shot under him during his military career. In the fall of 18G4 he was 
elected to Congress, and was returned a second time in 18G(). 

In 1867, before the expiration of his Congressional term, he was elected 
Governor of Ohio, 
and was re-elected 
to that office in 
18G9, being each 
time the candidate 
of the Republican 
party. In 1870 
General Hayes 
was again elected 
to Congress, and 
in 1871 was nom- 
inated for a third 
term as Governor 
of Ohio. His op- 
ponent was Gov- 
ernor William Al- 
len, one of the 
most popular of 
the Democratic 
leaders of Ohio. 
General Hayes 
was elected by a 
handsome major- 
ity. In March, 
1877, he resigned 
this office to en- 
ter upon his new 
duties as Presi- 
dent of the United 
States. President 

Hayes, in his letter accepting the nomination of his party for the Presi- 
dency, declared that if elected he would earnestly and faithfully seek to 
do justice to the States of the South, and reform the civil service of the 
country by ridding it of corrupt men, and requiring a faithful di::charge 




RUTHEllFORD B. HAVES. 



358 



ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 



of duty at the hands of every public officer. Immediately upon his inau- 
guration he set to work to make good his promises. He selected his cabi- 
net from among the ablest men in the country, making ability, and not 
partisan service, the test of the fitness of the persons selected. 

In the summer of 1880 the various political parties of the country met 
it convention to nominate candidates for the Presidency and Vice-Presi- 
dency of the United States. The Republican Convention met at Chicago 

on the 2d of June, and nomi- 
nated James A. Garfield, of Ohio, 
for President, and Chester A. 
Arthur, of New York, for Vice- 
President. The Democratic Con- 
vention met in Cincinnati, on the 
22d of June, and nominated Win- 
field Scott Hancock, of Pennsyl- 
vania, for President, and Wil- 
liam H. English, of Indiana, for 
Vice-President. The Greenback 
Convention met at Chicago, on 
the 9th of June, and nominated 
James A. Weaver, of Iowa, for 
^ President, and B. J. Chambers, 
^ of Texas, for Vice-President. 

The election was held on 
the 2d of November and resulted 
in the choice of General James A. 
JAMES A. GARFIELD. Garfield, who received 214 elec- 

toral votes to 155 electoral votes cast for General Hancock. The popu- 
lar vote cast was as follows: Garfield, 4,437,345; Hancock, 4,435,015; 
Weaver, 305,931. 

On the second Wednesday in February, 1881, the two Houses of Con- 
gress met in joint-session in the hall of the House of Representatives, for 
the purpose of counting the electoral vote. The certificates of the electoral 
colleges of the various States having been opened and read, with the result 
mentioned above, the Vice-President announced that James A. Gerfield had 
been duh^ elected President of the United States, and Chester A. Arthur 
Vice-President, for the term of four years, from the 4th of March, 1881. 




ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 359 

The result of the election was cordially accepted by the country, and the 
nation began to look forward to a new era of prosperity and happiness. 

On Friday, March 4, 1881, the inauguration ceremonies took place 
upon a scale of unusual magnificence, and were participated in by numer- 
ous military and civic organizations, and by thousands of citizens from all 
parts of the country. After the new Vice-President had taken the oath of 
office, President-elect Garfield was formally received by the Senate, and 
escorted to the eastern portico of the capitol, where, in the presence of an 
immense multitude of citizens and soldiery, he delivered an able and elo- 
quent inaugural address, and took the oath of office at the hands of 
Chief-Justice Waite. 

The new President had been long and favorably known to his coun- 
trymen. He was in his fiftieth year, and in vigorous health. A man of 
commanding presence, he was dignified and courteous in his demeanor, 
accessible to the humblest citizen, and deservedly popular with men of all 
parties. Born a poor bo}^, without influential friends, he had by his own 
•efforts secured a thorough collegiate education, and had carefully fitted him- 
self for the arduous duties he was now called upon to discharge. 

Promoted to the Rank of Major-General. 

Bntering the army at the outbreak of the civil war, he had won a 
brilliant reputation as a soldier, and had been promoted to the rank of 
major-general of volunteers. Elected to Congress from Ohio, in 1862, he 
liad entered the House of Representatives in December, 1863, and had seen 
almost eighteen years of constant service in that body, in which he had 
long ranked as one of the most brilliant and trusted leaders of the Repub- 
lican party. Early in 1880 he had been chosen a United States Senator 
from Ohio, but had been prevented from taking his seat in the Senate by 
his election to the Presidency. 

Immediatelv after his inauguration he sent to the Senate for confirma- 
tion the names of the members of his cabinet. They were chosen from 
among the leading members of the conservative portion of the Republican 
party, and 'were headed by James G. Blaine, of JMaine, as secretary of state. 
They were at once confirmed by the Senate, and the new administration 
embarked upon its short-lived career. 

Very soon after entering upon his duties President Garfield found that 
the Executive chair was by no means a bed of roses. The Republican 



360 



ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 



party soon divided into two sections, one known as the " conservativCj" 
supporting the administration, and the other known as the " stalwarts," 
opposing it. A bitter partisan quarrel sprang up between these two wings 
of the party, and prolonged the Bxecutive session of the senate until late 
in June. The quarrel was the fiercest over the appointment of a new col- 
lector for the port of New York, and culminated in the resignation of 
their seats in the senate by Senators Conkling and Piatt, of New York, 
on the sixteenth of May. 

The resignation of these gentlemen was based upon the ground that 
the President had nominated Judge Robertson to be collector of the port 

of New York, without consulting or yielding 
to the wishes of the Senators from that State^ 
the said Senators in effect claiming the right 
to determine what appointments should or 
should not be made by the President in their 
State. The President, on his part, insisted 
upon his right to nominate to of&ce any man 
whom he should deem worthy of the trust. 

The struggle was in reality a contest for 
the independence of the Executive in the mat- 
ter of public appointments, and President Gar- 
field was warmly supported b}'- the great 
mass of the nation, without regard to party. 
He, therefore, pursued with unshaken firm- 
ness the policy he had determined upon. After the resignation of Sen- 
ators Conkling and Piatt, the nomination of Judge Robertson was 
confirmed by the Senate. 

As the time wore on. President Garfield gained steadily in the esteem 
of his countrymen. His purpose to give to the nation a fair and just 
administration of the government was every day more apparent, and his 
high and noble qualities became more conspicuous. Men began to feel 
that the Executive chair was occupied by a President capable of conceiving 
a pure and noble standard of dut}^, and possessed of the firmness and 
strength of will necessary to carry it into execution. The country was 
prosperous, and there was every reason to expect a continuance of the 
general happiness. 

Soon after the opening of President Garfield's administration, the Post- 




JAMES G. BLAINE. 



ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 



361 



master-General discovered that certain contracts for carrying the mails on 
what are known as " The Star Routes," were fraudulent, and that the 
persons interested in them were defrauding the government of large sums 
of money. The President, Postmaster-General and Attorney-General, sus- 
tained by the other members of the Cabinet, without exception, thereupon 
resolved to bring the guilty parties to justice. 

The latter, being men of wealth and position, bitterly resented the 
course of the government, and violently denounced it. Nevertheless, the 




THE ASSASSINATION OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 

President caused measures looking to the punishment of the accused parties 
to be begun, and only the unexpected adjournment of the grand jur\^ and 
court prevented a formal indictment from being brought against them. 
Before other measures could be taken, the attention of the entire nation 
was occupied by an event of graver importance. 

While these matters were still in progress. President Garfield began 
preparations for a brief pleasure trip to Long Branch, where ]\Irs. Garfield 
was recovering from a severe illness ; intending from thct point to visit 
New Kngland, and be present at the commencement exercises of his aium 



362 ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 

mater^ Williams' College, in Massachusetts. He was to be accompanied by 
a distinguished part}-, including several members of the Cabinet. 

On the morning of the 2d of July, the party proceeded to the Balti- 
more and Potomac depot, where they were to take the cars, in advance of 
the President, who arrived soon after, in company with Secretary Blaine, 
Yv^ho came simply to see him off, and say good-bye. They left the Presi- 
dent's carriage together, and sauntered arm-in-arm through the depot 
towards the cars. 

In passing through the ladies' waiting-room, the President was fired at 
twice by a man named Charles J. Guiteau. The first shot inflicted a slight 
wound in the President's right arm, and the second a terrible wound in 
the right side of his back, between the hip and the kidne3^ The Presi- 
dent fell heavily to the floor, and the assassin was secured as he was 
seeking to make his escape from the building, and was conveyed to a 
police station, from which he was subsequently taken to prison. 

Hastily Removed to the White House. 

The President lay helpless upon the floor of the waiting-room, the 
blood flowing copiously from both his wounds. As soon as those near him 
recovered from the dismay into which the tragedy had thrown them, he 
was placed upon a mattress, physicians were summoned, and he was con- 
veyed to an upper room in the depot. He bore his sufferings with great 
firmness, and from the first displayed a cool courage that won the warm 
admiration of the country. The surgeons summoned were soon at hand, 
and found that the President's injuries were very critical. It was decided to 
remove him to the Executive Mansion, and he was carried down the stairs, 
placed in an army ambulance and driven rapidly to the White House. 

Arriving there he was conveyed to his wife's chamber, overlooking the 
Potomac, and placed in bed. Two attempts were made by the surgeons 
to find the ball — one at the depot, and one at the White House after his 
arrival there — but both were unsuccessful. Grave fears were entertained 
by the surgeons for the President's life, and Mrs. Garfield was summoned 
by telegraph from Long Branch. She arrived during the evening. 

The news of the attempt upon the President's life spread rapidly 
throughout the Union, and was everywhere received with horror and indig- 
nation. During the afternoon his condition became more alarming, and 
bulletins were issued by the surgeons in charge at frequent intervals, 



ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 363 

'giving tlie latest news of the state of the illustrious sufferer. These were 
telegraphed to all parts of the country, and were watched with eager 
impatience by vast crowds of citizens wherever they were posted. The 
sympathy of the whole nation went out warmly towards the wounded 
President and his afflicted family; and from the governments and nations 
of Europe messages of inquiry and sympathy were constantly received 
through the Atlantic cable. During the entire period of the President's 
illness the official bulletins were issued three times each day, and the 
•nation was thus kept informed of his condition. 

Courageous and Cheerful under Suffering. 

The best medical and surgical skill of the country was employed in 
the effort to save the President's life, and throughout the whole period of 
his illness he never lost his calm courage, but displayed a firmness and 
cheerfulness that astonished his attendants, and encouraged them to hope 
for a favorable result. 

The afternoon of the 2d of Jul}^ wore anxiously away, no signs of a 
reaction being manifested, but after the arrival of Mrs. Garfield, in the 
evening, the President began to rally slightly. The night was passed in 
anxious suspense. On the morning of the 3d the President was calm and 
cheerful, though he fully realized the gravity of his situation. He told 
Dr. Bliss, the surgeon in charge of his case, that he wished to know 
exactly what his chances for life were ; that, while he desired to live, he 
was prepared to die, and did not fear to learn the worst. Dr. Bliss replied 
that, though his injuries were formidable, he had, in his judgment, a 
chance for his life. "Well, Doctor," exclaimed the sufferer, with a cheerful 
smile, ''we'll take that chance." 

The day passed away without any event of importance, and the anxi- 
ous nation, as well as the President's attendants, drew some hope from the 
fact he continued " to hold his own." The popular anxiety and sympathy 
were strikingly manifested on the Fourth of July, the anniversary of the 
National Independence, in the listless and careless manner in which the 
day was celebrated. The people were too much engrossed with their anxiety 
to take part in any demonstration of joy. 

The two months following the wounding of President Garfield dragged 
wearily away, the patient at times showing symptoms of marked improve- 
ment, and at others experiencing dangerous relapses. The nation alternated 



364 ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 

between hope and despair, and was kept all the while in a most painful 
suspense. The surgeons in charge, however, recognized the true char- 
acter of the wound from the first, and while they hoped for a recovery, 
could not conceal from themselves the fact that such a result would be 
almost miraculous. 

The President's sufferings were very great during this period, and were 
increased by the intense heat of the season and the unhealthy surround- 
ings of the White House. Yet he bore them all with unshaken firmness 
and unalterable cheerfulness. Dr. Bliss, his chief surgeon, writes of him 
during this period : " The time which passed until the 23d of July, when 
the first rigor occurred, was chiefly remarkable for the quiet, cool deter- 
mination of the sufferer. Quite ready for, and evidently expecting the 
worst, his demeanor was that of the man whose great intellect and wonder- 
ful will enabled him to give the most intelligent aid to the physician. 
Apparently indifferent as to result, so far as it should affect him alone, he 
still watched every symptom, even making inquiry after each examination 
as to the temperature, pulse and respiration, and every measure of relief 
adopted, with evidently firm determination to live for others if possible." 

Conveyed to Long Branch by Special Trair , 

Towards the last of August the surgeons in attendance upon the Presi- 
dent resolved to remove him from the White House to a more healthful 
locality. The removal was a risk, but not so great a risk as to permit 
him to remain in the malarious atmosphere which surrounded the Execu- 
tive Mansion, and which was rapidly destroying the little strength left 
him. It was decided to convey him to Long Branch, in the hope that the 
pure and bracing air of the sea would enable him to regain some of 
his lost vitality. 

Accordingly, on the Cth of September, the President, accompanied by 
his family, his surgeons and attendants, was conveyed to Long Branch in 
a train specially prepared for the purpose. The journey was made quickly 
and successfully, and after reaching Long Branch the President seemed to 
rally. For the first few da3^s after his arrival at the seashore his S3'nip- 
toms were so much better that renewed hope sprang up in the hearts of 
his countrymen. It was only for a brief period, however. On the 16tli of 
September there was a marked change for the worse, with unmistakable 
evidences of increasing weakness in mind and body. 




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ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD, 365 

On die ITtli the President sank still lower, and in the forenoon was 
seized with a severe rigor. On the evening of the 18th another alarming 
rigor occurred, followed by other grave symptoms. From this time the 
President continued to grow worse. On the morning of the 19tli he was 
attacked with another severe rigor, but after that had passed away ap- 
peared more comfortable, and his attendants were more hopeful of a quiet 
night for him. 

Towards nine o'clock in the evening he fell into a quiet sleep, from 
which he awakened, shortly after ten o'clock, in great pain. General 
Swaim, who was watching by him, alarmed by the President's symptoms, 
hastily summoned the family, and the surgeons. The President was uncon- 
scious when they arrived, and continued to sink rapidly. Efforts were 
made to revive him with stimulants, but in vain, and at thirty-five minutes 
after ten o'clock, the brave struggle was brought to an end, and the soul 
of James A, Garfield passed into eternit3\ 

The Country Shocked by the President's Death. 

The sad news of the death of President Garfield was at once tele- 
graphed to New York, and by eleven o'clock the whole country was aware 
that its Chief Magistrate was dead. Bells were tolled in every city, 
town, and village of the Union, and everywhere citizens draped their 
houses in mourning. Such a display of national sorrow had never 
been witnessed before. 

The news of the death of President Garfield was at once transmitted 
by telegraph to Vice-President Arthur, by the members of the Cabinet 
present at Long Branch, and he was advised by them to take the oath of 
office as President without delay. Accordingly, Justices Brady and Don- 
ahoe, of the Supreme Court of New York, were at once summoned by the 
Vice-President, and, at a little after two o'clock on the morning of the 
20th of September, he took the oath of office as President of the United 
States before them at his private residence in New York. 

On the 20th of September, arrangements were made for removing the 
body of the late President to AVashington Cit}-, and on the same day an 
autopsy was held upon the body by the surgeons who had been in attend- 
ance upon the President, assisted b}^ several others. The autopsy revealed 
the fact that the wound had been fatal from the first. On the morning 
of the 21st, funeral ceremonies were held in the cottage at Long Branch, 



366 



ASSASSLVAT/ON OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 



in whicli the President died, and at ten o'clock the remains were placed 
on board of a special train, and conveyed to Washington, and accompanied 
by the family and friends of the dead President, and by President Arthur 
and a number of distinguished personages. Washington was reached at 
4.35 in the afternoon, and the body was escorted by a detachment of 
military and Knights Templar to the Capitol, and laid in state until the 23d. 
During the 22d and 23d, it was visited by over one hundred thousand 
persons. On the afternoon of the 23d, the public funeral services were 

held in the rotunda of the 
Capitol, after which the body 
was escorted to the Baltimore 
and Potomac depot, and con- 
veyed to Cleveland, Ohio, by 
a special train. Cleveland 
was reached the next day, 
and the remains were laid in 
state in a structure especially 
prepared for them, until the 
morning of the 26th, when 
they were buried, with the 
most imposing ceremonies, in 
Lake View Cemetery, in the 
suburbs of that city. Busi- 
ness was suspended, and me- 
morial services were held 
during the day in all parts 
of the United States, 

On the 22d of Septem- 
ber, President Arthur again 
took the oath of office, this time at the hands of the Chief-Justice of the 
United States, and was quietly inaugurated in the Vice-President's room, 
in the Capitol, delivering, upon this occasion, a brief inaugural address. 

Soon after the attempt upon the life of President Garfield, a popular 
subscription was set on foot to provide a fund for the support of his 
family in the event of his death. The movement was successful, and over 
$330,000 were raised, and invested in United States bonds, for the benefit 
of the widow and children of the " Martyred President." 




CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 



ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 367 

President Arthur entered quietl}^ upon the duties of his administration, 
and his first acts were satisfactory to a majority of his countrymen. As 
he had been the leader of "the Stalwart" section of the Republican party, 
it was felt by the members of the Cabinet of the late President that he 
should be free to choose his own advisers. Therefore, immediately upon 
his accession to the Executive chair, Mr. Blaine and his colleagues tendered 
him their resignations. They were requested, however, by the new Presi- 
dent to retain their offices until he could find suitable successors to them. 
To this they agreed, but before the year was out several important changes 
had been made in the Cabinet. The principal of these were the substi- 
tution of Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey, for Mr. Blaine, as 
Secretary of State, and the appointment of Judge Charles J. Folger to the 
Treasury Department. 

President Garfield's Assassin Brought to Trial. 

One of the first acts of the new administration was to cause the 
indictment of Charles J. Guiteau for the murder of President Garfield. The 
grand jury of the District of Columbia met on the 3d of October, 1881, and 
promptly found a true bill against Guiteau, who was arraigned in the 
Criminal Court of the District on the 14th of October. After some delay, 
the trial of the assassin began on the 14th of November. The first three 
da3^s were consumed in selecting a jnr}^, and then the trial began in earnest. 
It ended on the 25th of January, 1882, in the conviction of Guiteau for the 
murder of the late President. The prisoner was defended by able counsel, 
and was allowed many privileges never before granted to persons on trial 
for so grave an offence. 

The plea upon which the defence was based was insanity, but the 
evidence entirely destroyed this assumption, and the verdict of the jury was 
received throughout the country as just and proper. An effort was made 
by Guiteau's counsel to obtain a new trial for him, but this was denied by 
the court, and on the 4th of February Guiteau was sentenced to be hanged, 
on the 30th of June, 1882. The counsel for the prisoner still continued 
his efforts to secure a new trial, but these being unsuccessful in each and 
every instance, his only resource was an appeal to the clemency of the 
Executive. The President declined, however, to interfere with the sentence. 

During the interval between his sentence and his execution, Guiteau 
was confined in the jail of the District of Columbia, at Washington. His 



368 



ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 



conduct during tliis interval was in keeping with that which had marked 
his trial — vain, egotistical, and blasphemous. To the last the prisoner was 
confident that President Arthur would interfere in his behalf. 




THE BROOKLYN SUSPENSION BRIDGE. 

The execution took place in the District jail on the 30th of June, 1882, 
and was witnessed by about two hundred people, nearly all representatives 



ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 369 

of the press. Guiteaii displayed more firmness than had been expected of 
him. He walked to the gallows Avithout making the violent scene which 
had been anticipated by many, and ascended it with a firm step. Upon the 
scaffold, however, he displayed considerable emotion, which he quickly 
subdued. His religious adviser offered a short prayer, and Guiteau read a 
selection from the Holy Scriptures. 

Execution of the Murderer. 

Then he read a prayer, strangely at variance with his religious profes- 
sions, in which he called down the curse of the Almighty upon all who 
had been engaged in his trial and execution, and upon the nation at large, 
and denounced President Arthur as a coward and an ingrate. Finall}'- he 
chanted a poem which he had written during the morning. At the close 
of this singular recital the trap fell, precisely at forty-three minutes past 
twelve o'clock, and the great crime against the American people was avenged. 
Guiteau's neck was broken by the fall, and his d'^^'^th was painless. He 
died without a struggle, and with scarce a tremor. 

On the 27tli of October, 1882, the two-hundredtn anniversary of the 
landing of William Penn was celebrated at Philadelphia. The exercises 
included public addresses, a military display, and an industrial parade. In 
addition to these there were various historic devices and tableaux, illus- 
trating events in the early history of Pennsylvania. It was estimated that 
upwards of four hundred thousand persons attended the celebration. 

One of the notable events of I880 was the opening of the great 
Suspension Bridge over the East river, between New York City and 
Brookl}^. Work commenced January 3, 1870, and the bridge was opened 
to the public May 24, 1883. The total cost was $15,500,000. The total 
length from New York to Brooklyn is 5,989 feet, and the length of the 
main span is l,595i feet. The height of the towers is 2761 feet. The 
height of the floor of the bridge at the centre, above high-water mark, is 
135 feet„ The height of the floor of the bridge at the piers is 118 feet. 

The caisson for the New York pier was sunk 78 feet, and that for 
the Brooklyn pier 45i feet below the bed of the river. Each cable is 151 
inches in diameter, and is made up of 5,000 wires, each I inch in diameter. 
The anchorages are 930 feet from the towers, and weigh 120,000,000 
pounds each. The cables are capable of sustaining 49,200 tons. The 
weight of the central span is 6,742 tons. 

24 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 




ADMINISTRATION OF GROVER CLEVELAND. 

HE twenty-second President of the United States was Hon. 
Grover Cleveland. Mr. Cleveland was a native of New Jersey,, 
and was born in Caldwell, Essex County, March 18, 1837. He 
came from sturdy New England stock, many of his ancestors- 
having held honorable positions in their respective localities. 

President Cleveland, after teach- 
ing two or three years, studied 
law in Buffalo, was admitted 
to the bar, became sherifl of 
the county, mayor of the city, 
and, having received the nomi- 
nation for governor of New 
York, was elected by a large 
majority. This was followed 
by his nomination in the Dem- 
ocratic Convention of 1884, and 
his election in the following" 
November to the Presidency. 

Naturall}^ the departure of 
the Republican administration, 
and the return of the Demo- 
cratic party to power after 
twenty-four years of exile from the highest seats in the councils of the 
Republic awakened a profound interest. As the 4th of March, 1885, 
approached, eyes were turned towards Washington, and multitudes went 
up to the Capitol as to a Mecca. Washington itself, accustomed to civic 
displays, exciting events and magnificent parades, was more than usually 
awakened, and an interest was exhibited in the inauguration which over- 
shadowed all other concerns. The representatives of the press throughout 
the country were there in full force to record the event and depict the 
scene in its imposing aspects. 

370 




GROVER CLEVELAND. 



872 



ADMINISTRATION OF GROVER CLEVELAND. 



The ceremonies incident upon the inauguration presented a pageant 
exceeding, in civic and military display, any such preceding occasion in 
the history of the government. There were in attendance more than one 
hundred thousand visitors, and the city in its profuse decorations was a 
bewildering maze of bright colors. Among the significant allegorical 
designs was a great floral ladder reaching to the roof of a business house 
on Pennsylvania Avenue, which bore upon its rungs the words, " Sheriff," 
^' Mayor," " Governor," " President," thus graphically symbolizing the life- 
work of the President-elect. 

The inaugural of President Cleveland began as follows : "In the pres- 
ence of this vast assemblage 
of my countrymen I am 
about to supplement and seal 
by the oath which I shall 
take the manifestation of the 
will of a great and free peo- 
ple. In the exercise of their 
power and right of self- 
government they have com- 
mitted to one of their fel- 
low-citizens a supreme and 
sacred trust, and he here con- 
secrates himself to their ser- 

COTTAGE IN WHICH GRANT DIED AT MT. m'GREGOR. vice." 

On the 4th of IMarch, the day of President Cleveland's inauguration, 
ex-President Grant was placed on the retired list of the army. For some 
months previous to this there were ominous rumors respecting the state of 
liis health. The great general who had led the Federal forces in the last 
part of the civil war, and who had gained a military reputation second to 
that of no commander of modern times ; who had also been lifted to the 
bighest position in the gift of a grateful people, and had served eight 
years in the White House as our chief executive, was reported to be 

in his last illness. 

The sympathy of the entire country was profoundly stirred by this 
announcement. Medical skill of the bighest order was summoned ; daily 
bulletins of the condition of the illustrious patient were issued ; hope was 
ext3ressed that his life might be spared for many years, a hope which soon 





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ADMINISTRATION OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. 



373 



proved to be unfounded ; and although his labors in the preparation of his 
" Memoirs " continued, it became evident that he Avas sustained more by 
will-power than by any increasing strength, and that very soon he would be 
compelled to lay down his pen as he had already laid down his sword. 




DEATH OF GENERAL GRANT. 

In the summer of 1885 he was removed to INIount McGregor, in the 
northern part of the State of New York, in the hope that he would be 
invigorated by the mountain air. Disease, however, had progressed so far 
that his death became inevitable, and this occurred on the 23d of July, at 
eight o'clock A. M. Demonstrations of sorrow attended his obsequies. A 
special train bore his remains from Mount McGregor to the city of New 
York, where the funeral services and the interment were to take place. 
On the Gth of August he was laid in state in the City Hall, and vast 
crowds of people came to take their last look. On August Sth the funeral 
took place, which was an extraordinar}^ pageantr3^ It was attended b}' 
celebrities from all parts of the land. All that statesmen, members of Con- 



374 



ADMINISTRATION OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. 



gress, Governors of States, Judges of Supreme Courts and persons in the 
highest walks of professional and mercantile life could do to give honor to 
the illustrious dead was rendered en this occasion. 

The Grand Arm}-, of which General Grant had been the leader, was 
full}^ represented. A procession numbering from fifty to sixty thousand 
men followed the hearse from the City Hall to the mauseleum erected on 




GKNARAL, grant's TEMPORARY TOMB, RIVERSIDE PARK, NEW YORK. 

the banks of the Hudson, which was to contain the remains of the illus- 
trious dead. The closing scenes of the life of General Grant were as 
impressive as his previous illness had been painful, and fitted to awaken 
public sympathy. Thus was laid in the tomb another of the renowned 
sons of the Republic who had done much to add to her fame and 
brighten her glor}^ 

It was not long after this that another death occurred which added to 
the afjdiction caused by that of ex-President Grant. On the 29th of October 
General George B. McClellan died at his residence at Orange Mountain, 



ADMINISTRATION OF GROVER CLEVELAND. 375 

N. J. General McClellan's name comes out conspicuously in the history of 
our country since 18G0. In the early part of the war he was commander 
of the Army of the Potomac. Having been displaced, the part that he 
occupied in the war was not afterward prominent. He was widely known, 
however, in political life, and was invested with several offices, one of which 
was the governorship of New Jersey. His funeral took place in the city 
of New York on the 2d of November. 

In December both houses of Congress passed a bill granting a pension 
to President Grant's widow. This was thought to be an act of justice in 
•consideration of the services rendered to the nation by her distinguished 
husband — a measure which was heartily approved by the people at large, 
and which was another evidence of the fact that, notwithstanding the old 
saying that " Republics are ungrateful," ours is not to be so classed. 

Evils Threatening the Country. 

In the early part of December, Congress reassembled at Washington, 
and President Cleveland submitted his annual message. In this message 
the matter of silver coinage was given a prominent place, and in connection 
with it the existing condition of the laboring classes throughout the country 
was discussed. The President expressed the gravest anxiety for the pros- 
perity of the country, unless measures should be taken b}^ Congress to 
remedy the existing evils. Another important recommendation had refer- 
ence to the Indians. It was maintained that the present laws and regula- 
tions for their control should be prudently administered, while at the 
same time it was stated that there was a lack of fixed purpose or policy 
on this subject. 

The President took the ground that the Indians were within the care 
of the government, and their rights should be protected from invasion by 
the most solemn obligations. It was stated that there was a general con- 
currence in the proposition that the ultimate object of their treatment 
should be their civilization and citizenship, and it was urged that measures 
to this end should be pressed forward as speedily as possible. The passage 
of a law was recommended which should authorize the appointment of six 
commissioners to carry out tlie preceding recommendations. These were 
the most important matters which were submitted by President Cleve- 
land in his message. 

Agitations upon the labor question continued throughout the country; 



376 ADMINISTRATION OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. 

organizations were rapidly formed, conventions were held, leading agitators 
inflamed the laboring classes, and the subject assumed such grave propor- 
tions that on the 22d of April, 1886, President Cleveland sent a special 
message to Congress. The object was to recommend such measures 
as would tend to quiet the labor agitation, and at the same time guard 
the interests of capital. 

The next event of importance, although occurring in Chicago, very 
soon assumed a national aspect. On the 4th of May a riot occurred in 
that city, instigated by a company of revolutionary spirits, who have been 
denominated "Anarchists." After having held secret and public meetings 
for a long time, which were promoted and reported by one or two journals 
edited by the leaders in the movement, an open outbreak occurred on the 
above date. While a public meeting was being held, and speeches were 
being made of a revolutionary^ description, the police attempted to disperse 
the crowd. At that instant dynamite bombs were thrown, and seven police- 
men were killed, and eighty-three officers and citizens were wounded- 

Execution of Anarchists at Chicago. 

A number of arrests followed, and on the 20tli of August, after a pro- 
tracted trial, seven anarchists were convicted of murder, and sentenced to 
be executed. Able counsel defended them, and managed their trial in such 
a way as to indicate that they were as much in sympathy with the meas- 
ures proposed by the anarchists, as they were with the maintenance of law 
and order. On the 7th of October a new trial was refused, and on the 
9th formal sentence of execution was pronounced Four were executed on 
November 11, 1887, one committed suicide in prison, two were sentenced 
to imprisonment for life, and one to fifteen years in the penitentiary. 

On the 31st of August, 1886, the city of Charleston, South Carolina, 
was visited b}^ a severe earthquake. Nearly seven thousand buildings were 
totally destroyed, or seriously injured. About one hundred lives w^ere lost, 
and so great was the work of destruction that more than one-half of the 
city had to be rebuilt. This calamity threw a gloom over the entire 
country ; prompt aid was offered the sufferers, and the people of the stricken 
city began at once to repair their desolated homes. 

On Thursday, October 28, 1886, the great statue of Liberty Enlighten- 
ing the World was unveiled on Bedloe's Island, in New York Harbor. 
This massive work was conceived and executed by M. Auguste F. Bar- 



ADMINISTRATION OF GROVER CLEVELAND. 377 

tholdi, of Paris, France, and was presented by the French nation to the 
people of the United States. The first steps towards its construction were 
taken in 1874, when the French-American Union was established, a ban- 
quet given, and an appeal made to the people of France. In 1876 M. 
Bartholdi had begun his great work, and with extended right arm of the 
statue — the first part that was completed — came to America, and placed it, 
with the torch, in the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, whence it 
was subsequently removed to Madison Square, New York. In February, 
1877, Congress set apart Bedloe's Island for the statue, and a committee 
was chosen, with William M. Evarts at its head, to make preparations for 
receiving the great work. 

Description of the Statue. 

The statue weighs 450,000 pounds, or 225 tons. The bronze alone 
weighs 200,000 pounds. Forty persons can stand comfortabl}^ in the head, 
and the torch will hold twelve people. 

The total number of steps in the temporary staircase, which leads 
from the base of the foundation to the tojD of the torch is 403 feet. From 
the ground to the top of the pedestal, 195 steps. The number of steps in 
the statue from the pedestal to the head is 154, and the ladder leading up 
through the extended right arm to the torch has 54 rounds. The cost of 
the statue was estimated at $250,000; the cost of the pedestal and the 
erection of the statue, $350,000. Total cost of the work completed and 
in place, $600,000. 

In September, of 1887, the centennial anniversary of the adoption and 
promulgation of the United States Constitution was celebrated in Philadel- 
phia. The celebration occupied the three daj^'s — Thursday, Friday and 
Saturday, September 15th, 16th and ITth. On the 15th there was a grand 
industrial display under the general direction of Colonel A. Loudon Snowden, 
which was seven hours in passing a given point, and was b}^ far the largest 
exhibition of the sort ever made in America. 

On Friday, the 16th, there M-as a military parade, composed of United 
States regular troops. United States marines, Girard College cadets, and 
companies of State militia from over half the States in the Union. Fifteen 
thousand men were in line, the governors of States riding at the head of 
their several State troops, the whole under the command of Eieutenant- 
General Philip H. Sheridan. It was reviewed by the President of the United 



378 



ADMINISTRATION OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. 



States. Stands had been erected along Broad street from Wharton to 
Dauphin streets, and on Market and Chestnut streets from Broad to Fifth 
streets, and they were filled with tier upon tier of enthusiastic thousands, 
the whole forming one of the grandest military spectacles of the century. 

On Saturday there were public exercises in Independence Square, at 
at which President Cleveland presided, the opening and closing prayers 
being made by Bishop Potter, of New York, and Cardinal Gibbons, of 
Baltimore, respectively. There were addresses by President Cleveland and 

President Kasson, of the Constitu- 
tional Celebration Committee, and 
the oration was given by Associate 
Justice Samuel F. Miller, of the 
United States Supreme Court. 

At St. Louis, June 5th, 1888, 
the Democratic National Convention 
was held for the purpose of nomi- 
nating candidates for the of&ces of 
President and Vice-President. Presi- 
^^^ dent Grover Cleveland, of New York, 
' was unanimously nominated for the 
of&ce of President of the United 
States, and Allen G. Thurman, of 
Ohio, for the of&ce of Vice-Presi- 
dent; after^ which the convention 
adjourned on June 7th. The meet- 
ings of the convention were attended by scenes of excitement and enthu- 
siasm, which indicated complete harmony in the Democratic party, resolute 
determination to make the approaching campaign one of great vigor, and 
hope of success at the general election to be held in November. 

The Republican National Convention, held at Chicago from the 19th 
to the 25th of June, 1888, nominated the Hon. Benjamin Harrison, of 
Indiana, for the of&ce of President. 

Previous to the assembling of the convention, and even during its 
early sessions, Mr. Harrison was not so prominently named for the nomi- 
nation as several others. Sherman, of Ohio; Gresham, of Illinois; Alger, 
of Michigan, and that distinguished leader of the Republican party, James 
G. Blaine, had their respective enthusiastic following. The nomination 




LEVI p. MORTON. 



ADMINISTRATION OF G ROVER CLEVELAND. 379 

was given to Mr. Harrison after a long and patient effort to secure the 
best man for the high honor of leading the Republican hosts. 

When the convention, on the eighth ballot, declared in favor of Har- 
rison, the decision was hailed with universal delight. Although the friends 
of other candidates had worked with great zeal to secure the prize for 
their favorites, there was a hearty acquiescence in the final decision, the 
choice was made unanimous, the building shook with hearty plaudits, 
great waves of excitement swept over the vast audience, and the scene was 
one never to be forgotten by those who witnessed it. At once all differ- 
ences among the delegates were harmonized, and they prepared to push 
the canvass with vigor up to the day of decision in November. Hon. 
Levi P. Morton, of New York, was nominated for the office of Vice-President. 

On the sixth of November the election was held, which resulted in a 
victory for the Republican party, the States voting as they did at the 
election four years before, with the exception of New York and Indiana 
which gave their votes to Benjamin Harrison. 




I— I 
P 

O 
CO 



ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 381 

turiiig aud mining enterprises in the States hitherto wholly given to agri- 
culture, as a potent influence in the perfect unification of our people. The 
men who have invested their capital in these enterprises, the fanners who 
have felt the benefit of their neighborhood, and the men who work in shop 
or field will not fail to find and to defend a community of interest." 

Evils Attending Trusts. 

The President gave some timely suggestions respecting the formation 
of trusts and the evils which are likely to attend them. Among other 
things he said: "The evil example of permitting individuals, corporations 
or communities to nullify the laws because they cross some selfish or local 
interest or prejudice is full of danger, not only to the nation at large, but 
much more to those who use this pernicious expedient to escape their just 
obligations or to obtain an unjust advantage over others. They will pres- 
ently themselves be compelled to appeal to the law for protection and those 
who would use the law as a defence must not deny that use of it to others. 

" If our great corporations would more scrupulously observe their legal 
limitations and duties they would have less cause to complain of the unlaw- 
ful limitations of their rights or of violent interference with their opera- 
tions. The community that by concert, open or secret, among its citizens 
denies to a portion of its members their plain rights under the law, has 
severed the only safe bond of social order and prosperit}^ The evil works, 
from a bad centre, both wa3^s. It demoralizes those who practice it, and 
destroys the faith of those who suffer by it in the efficiency of the law as 
a safe protector. The man in whose breast that faith has been darkened 
is naturally the subject of dangerous uncanny suggestions. Those who use 
unlawful methods, if moved b}^ no higher motive than the selfishness that 
prompted them, may well stop to inquire what is to be the end of this." 

The President also recommended that oiir naturalization laws be so 
amended as to exclude the worst class of immigrants. " We should not 
cease to be hospitable to immigration, but we should cease to be careless 
as to the character of it." 

The address recommended that care be exercised to maintain friendly 
relations with the other nations of the globe, but not at the expense of 
our own interests. 

A strong navy for the protection of the United States was urged as a 
prime consideration, with such appropriations as would be needed to build 



382 ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 

and equip a fleet of war vessels capable of defending our coasts and' 
upholding the dignity of our flag. 

The reform of the civil service, the admission of new States, the freedom 
of the ballot, and the safeguards needed to give efficiency to our election 
laws, were topics discussed by the address in a timely, patriotic manner. 

On the advent of summer, June 1st, the country was horror-stricken 
by the announcement that a terrible calamity had overtaken the inhabitants 
of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and the neighboring villages on the preceding 
day. Instantly the whole land was stirred by the startling news of this 
great disaster. Its appalling magnitude, its dreadful suddenness, its scenes 
of terror and agou}^, the fate of thousands swept to instant death by a flood 
as frightful as that of the cataract of Niagara, awakened the profoundest 
horror. No calamity in the history of modern times so appalled the 
entire civilized world. 

The Appalling Calamity at Johnstown. 

The South Forks dam, situated a few miles above the city of Johns- 
town, suddenly gave way, precipitating an immense body of water into the 
valley below. The impetuous torrent swept downward with frightful velocity, 
overturning trees, carrying with it barns, houses, fences and vast accumula- 
tions of debris. People fled in terror to save their lives, but were overtaken 
by the rushing torrent. The destruction to life and property was appalling. 

The greatest damage occurred at Johnstown, a large part of the dwellings 
being swept away, transforming a flourishing manufacturing town of twelve 
thousand persons into a scene of utter desolation. The story of this great 
disaster is replete with thrilling incidents, narrow escapes from death, the 
rending asunder of families, the loss of husbands, wives and children, and 
in many instances the obliteration of entire households. It was estimated 
that upwards of four thousand persons perished. Profound sympathy 
throughout the world was awakened for the surviving sufferers, and 
immense sums of money and contributions of clothing w^ere sent to the 
scene of the disaster. 

One of the most important measures enacted during President Harri- 
son's administration was the McKinley tariff bill. After a lengthy discussion 
the bill was passed by a party vote, the Republican party being pledged to 
the principle of protection. The act went into effect October 1, 1890, and 
in its practical workings was closely watched and universally discussed. 



ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT HARRISON 38a 

A remarkable political revolution swept over the country in the autumn 
of 1890, which was considered largely due to the enactment of the McKinley 
tariff bill. In the Fifty-first Congress the House of Representatives con- 
tained one hundred and seventy-six Republicans and one hundred and 
fifty-five Democrats. In the Fifty -second Congress there were eighty-eight 
Republicans and two hundred and thirty-five Democrats. 

In the autumn of 1890 troubles broke out afresh at the Indian agen- 
cies. The several tribes were seized with a peculiar craze, and began to 
perform the "ghost dance," which was supposed to indicate their belief in 
a coming Messiah who was about to appear. 

Peculiar Belief of the Indians. 

It seems impossible to trace the exact origin of the Indian faith. An 
Indian from the upper Columbia river, named Smohalla, preached the doc- 
trine of an Indian Messiah about the year 1880. This Indian taught that 
there would be an upheaval of nature, which would destroy the white man 
and restore to the Indian his ancestral remains, and that the dust of 
countless dead Indians would spring to life, and would surround without 
one word of warning each pale face, who would be swept from the face of 
the earth. None of the deadly weapons of civilization or skill in their use 
would avail, and the blood of eighty millions of whites would atone for 
the wrongs done to the red race. 

Within a few months the belief in this new religion spread from tribe 
to tribe with marvellous rapidity. Runners traversed thousands of miles 
to reach distant tribes and bear the glad tidings. The Arrapahoes, the 
Shoshones, the great Sioux tribes, the Cheyennes, both north and south, 
and many other tribes, were taught the faith; and the "ghost-dance," the 
religious ceremony of the creed, was danced by all these tribes. 

Possessed by these superstitious notions, these extraordinary beliefs, 
the powerful tribe of Sioux began and continued to perform their fantastic 
ghost-dances. Sitting-Bull, the old deadly foe of the white men, took 
advantage of the craze to inflame the anger of his people, and prepare 
for deeds of blood. 

The disquietude among the Sioux Indians resulting from Sitting-Bull's 
prophecy that a new Messiah was soon to appear to restore to the Indians 
the land taken from them by the pale-faces, and to bring back the buffalo,, 
assumed such proportions that, on the 14th of November, the Interior 



384 



ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 



Department transferred the control of the Indians of North Dakota, under 

orders of the Presi- 
dent, to the War De- 
partment, and Gen- 
eral Miles, command- 
ing the Department 
of the Missouri, was 
placed in control. 

Troops were or- 
dered to be sent for- 
ward, and it was ex- 
pected that within a 
very short time there 
would be 3,000 regu- 
lars massed in North 
Dakota. Sitting-Bull 
had about 3,000 war- 
riors, and it was the 
intention of the War 
Department to over- 
awe the Indians by 
bringing an equal 
force of United States 
soldiers against them. 
The Indian hos- 
tility to those of 
their number who 
were friendly to the 
United States Gov- 
ernment showed itself 
in the attempted as- 
Wi sassination of Ameri- 
can Horse. This In- 
dian was a prominent 
SITTING-BULL IN HIS WAR-DRESS. Sioux cliicf and a 

friend of the United States. He was so regarded for years, and was always 
inclined to be peaceable and loyal. To nothing but the turbnlen^ hostile 




ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 385 

and disaffected spirit of the Indians can be attributed the attempt to 
murder him. They were seemingly angry because American Horse opposed 
the turbulent spirit manifested by the Indians. 

On the 7th of December some of the hostile chiefs from the Bad Lands 
appeared at the Pine Ridge agency to hold a conference with General 
Brooke. They came bearing a flag of truce and armed with Winchester 
and Springfield rifles. The entrance of the novel procession created great 
excitement. First came the chiefs, who were Turning Bear, Big Turkey, 
High Pine, Big Bad Horse and Bull Dog, who was one of the leaders in 
the Custer massacre. Next came Two Strike, the head chief, seated in a 
buggy with Father Jule, a priest who induced the chiefs to take this step. 
Surrounding these was a body-guard of four young warriors. 

Great Pow-Wow. 

All the Indians were decorated with war-paint and feathers, while 
many wore ghost-dance leggings and the ghost-dance shirt dangling at their 
saddles. The war-like cavalcade proceeded at once to General Brooke's 
spacious headquarters in the agency residence. At a given signal all 
leaped to the ground, hitched their ponies, and, guided by Father Jule, 
entered the general's apartments, where the council was held, lasting 
about two hours. 

At the beginning of the pow-wow. General Brooke explained that the 
Great Father, through him, asked them to come in and have a talk 
regarding the situation. A great deal of misunderstanding and trouble 
had arisen by the reports taken to and fro between the camps by irre- 
sponsible parties, and it was, therefore, considered very necessary that they 
have a talk face to face. Through him, he said, the Great Father wanted 
to tell them if they would come in near the agency, where he (General 
Brooke) could see them often, and not be compelled to depend on hearsay, 
that he would give them plenty to eat, and would employ many of their 
3^oung men as scouts, etc. 

The soldiers did not come there to fight, but to protect the settlers 
and keep peace. He hoped they, the Indians, were all in favor of peace, 
as the Great Father did not want war. As to the feeling over the change 
in the boundary line between Pine Ridge and Rosebud Agency, he said 
that and many other things v.-ould be settled satisfactorily, after they had 
shown a disposition to come in, as asked by the Great Father. Wounded 

25 



386 ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 

Knee was suggested as a place that would prove satisfactory to the Great 
Father to have them live. 

The representatives of the hostiles listened with contracted brows, 
sidelong glances at one another and low grunts. When the general had 
concluded his remarks, Turning Bear came forward, and spoke in reply. 
He proved a most entertaining person. Simmered down to a few words, 
Turning Bear gave expression to the following ideas : 

Shrewd Objections to the Plan. 

It would be a bad thing for them to come nearer the agency, because 
there was no water or grass for their horses here. He could not under- 
stand how their young men could be employed as scouts, if there was no 
enemy to be watched. They would be glad to be employed, and get paid 
for it. They might come in, but, as the old men and old women have no 
horses, and as their people have nothing generally to pull their wagons, it 
would take them a long time to come. If they should come they would 
want the Great Father to send horses and wagons to the Bad Lands camp, 
and bring in great quantities of beef, etc., they had there, and take it 
anywhere to a new camp that might be agreed on. In conclusion, the 
speaker hoped that they would be given something to eat before 
they started back. 

To this the general replied that they should be given food. As for 
horses and wagons being sent after the beef, the general said that and 
other things would be considered, after they had acceded to the Great 
Father's request to move into the agency. Any reference whatever to the 
wholesale devastation and depredation, thieving and burning of buildings, 
etc., was studiously avoided on both sides. After the pow-wow was over, 
the band was conducted to the quarter-master's department, and there given 
a big feast. The squaws living at the agency came out in gala-day 
feathers, and gave a squaw-dance. The conference amounted to nothing, 
and the trouble was no nearer a settlement than before. 

The next news received was of a startling character. It was known 
that General Miles considered Sitting-Bull the chief instigator of the 
hostilities on the part of the Indians, yet no public notice had been given 
of his intention to have the crafty old warrior arrested. The Indian police, 
however, employed on the Pine Ridge reservation, were ordered to make 
the arrest. The chief was taken, and, in the melee which followed an 



ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 387 

attempt to rescue him, He was shot, together with his son and six braves, 
while four of his captors were slain. 

The following is a detailed account of the engagement : On the 
morning of December 15th, 1890, there was a desperate fight at the camp 
of the hostile Indians, forty miles northwest of Standing-Rock Agency, and 
before it could be quelled Sitting Bull, his son. Crow Foot, and six other 
Indians were killed, besides four of the Indian police, while quite a number 
on both sides were wounded. The fight was the result of an attempt to 
arrest Sitting Bull in order to prevent his departure for the Bad Lands. 

Sharp Battle with the Red-skins. 

The Indian police were ordered early in the morning to proceed to the 
camp and arrest the wily old chief, who it was known had arranged to 
make an early start for the Bad Lands, where he would be almost abso- 
lutely safe from arrest. The police were followed by a troop of cavalry in 
command of Captain Fechet and a company of infantry under Colonel 
Drum. When the police reached Sitting Bull's camp on the Grand River, 
they found arrangements being made for the departure of the band, and 
without waiting for the soldiers to come up, at once placed the old chief 
under arrest and started back with him to the agency. 

Scarcely had the of&cers gotten under wa}' when the friends of the old 
Indian rallied to his rescue. They announced their determination to retake 
him, and a terrible fight ensued. The police were surrounded, and, though 
greatly outnumbered, they fought like demons and succeeded in holding 
their own against the redskins until the cavalry, attracted by the firing, 
came up on a quick run and succeeded in compelling the Indians either 
to fly or surrender. 

The fighting was of the hand-to-hand description, and is said to have 
been exceedingly savage. One of the Indian police jumped on Sitting 
Bull's horse as soon as he saw the old man fall and rode back for the 
infantry, which arrived on the scene shortly after the cavalry had relieved 
the overmatched police. Then the Indians began to break awa}^, and 
probably one hundred of the braves deserted their families and fled west, 
up the Grand river. 

When the smoke of the battle had cleared away it was found that 
Sitting Bull was dead, as also was his son. Crow Foot, and six braves. Four 
of the policemen, whose names could not be learned, were also dead, and 



388 ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT HARRISON 

three of tliem badly wounded. A number of the Indians were badly 
injured, but managed to escape on their ponies. Captain Wallace, com- 
manding Troop K, of the Seventh Cavalry, was killed, and Lieutenant 
Garlington of the same regiment was shot in the arm. After the death of 
Sitting Bull his warriors saw the hopelessness of continuing the strife and 
surrendered on the 22d of December, to the United States troops. 

On the 7th of June, 1892, the Republican Convention met at Minne- 
apolis. The nomination of President Harrison had been considered a 
foregone conclusion up to June 4th, when the country was startled by the 
news that Secretary Blaine had resigned from President Harrison's Cabinet. 
A letter writter by Mr. Blaine in the preceding February announced that 
nnder no consideration would he consent to be a candidate for the Presi- 
dency. This letter was very generally accepted in good faith, and there was 
a general conviction that ]\Ir. Blaine was entirely out of the race. 

Mr. Blaine's Unexpected Action. 

It was known, however, that for some time before the Convention 
assembled, persistent efforts had been made by enemies of the administration 
to induce Mr. Blaine to reconsider his letter of February, and allow his 
name to be used at Mineapolis ; and when he suddenly resigned from the 
Cabinet by a curt letter, and his resignation was accepted by President 
Harrison in a letter equally brief and barren of all complimentary expres- 
sions, it was commonly believed that the "Plumed Knight" had decided to 
seek the nomination. 

There was consequently great excitement preceding the organization of 
the Convention and during its progress. It became evident at once that 
there would be a hard contest between the two leading candidates. The 
States at their Conventions had strongly indorsed the administration of 
President Harrison, and many of the delegates had been instructed to vote 
for his renomination in the National Convention. His friends, after they 
recovered from the first shock which followed the announcement of Mr. 
Blaine's resignation, rallied bravely, and remained firm to the end. 

Minneapolis was the scene of animated discussions and unique popular 
demonstrations. The loud huzzahs for Blaine showed that he had a strong 
hold upon the popular heart; but the thoughtful mass of delegates who 
were to decide the question remained true to the President, and worked 
diligently and wisely to secure his nomination. 





LAFAYETTE MEMORIAL. 



GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON. 





GENERAL WINFIELD btuTT. LINCOLN EMANCIPATION STATUE. 

MONUMENTS AT WASHINGTON, D. C. 





GARFIELD MEMt-KiAL. 



GENERAL GEORGE H. THOMAS. 



i^tolj. gi '"''^ ^•JjJ^/l^f ^ 


[_ j A gsa 


->,>:,''-^^J^^^^HMn|; 




ADMIRAL DAVID G. FARRAGUT. REAR ADMIRAL DLTOXT. 

MONUMENTS AT WASHINGTON, D. C. 



ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT HARRISON. 389 

The brilliant eloquence of Chauncey M. Depew, of New York, awakened 
an unparalleled scene of enthusiasm as he placed Mr. Harrison in nomina- 
tion before the Convention. Mr. Blaine was nominated by Senator Wolcott, 
of Colorado. Mr. Harrison was chosen by the Convention as the nominee 
of the Republican party for the presidenc}-. 

The National Democratic Convention of 1892 was held in Chicago, 
June 21st to June 23d. It was conceded before the convention assembled 
that ex-President Cleveland would again receive the nomination for the 
Presidency, which prediction received verification on the first ballot. 

The national election on November 8th resulted in the success of the 
Democratic party by a large majority. The official returns showed that 
Cleveland and Stevenson obtained two hundred and seventy-eight electors^ 
or fifty-five more than a majority of the Electoral College. 

Death in High Places. 

The death of Hon. James G. Blaine occurred at his residence in Wash- 
ington on January 27, 1893. From 1862 he served fourteen years in Con- 
gress as Representative from Maine, and during the last three terms he 
was Speaker of the House. In the Republican nominations for the Presi- 
dency in 1876 and 1880 he was defeated by Hayes and Garfield. Ap- 
pointed United States Senator in 1876 he served till 1881, and acted as 
Secretary of State under Garfield, but resigned after Garfield's assassina- 
tion. He was the Republican candidate for the Presidency in 1884, but 
was defeated by Cleveland. On the 4th of March, 1888, he received the 
portfolio of Secretary of State in President Harrison's Cabinet. 

In the long and intricate controversy with Great Britain respecting the 
Behring Sea fisheries, Mr. Blaine vigorously maintained the rights of the 
United States and showed himself a master of diplomacy. By his speeches 
and writings he was known as an advocate of protection to American 
industries, and he made this one of the leading issues in the presidential 
campaign of 1884. 

To his ability as a statesman was added the charm of varied accom- 
plishments, a commanding personal appearance, great controversial power, 
and those eminent gifts which distinguish the persuasive orator and suc- 
cessful leader. Always intensely American in his convictions and sympa- 
thies, his conduct of the State Department at Washington, aimed to main- 
tain our national prerogatives, and to extend our influence. 




CHAPTER XXXVI. 

PRESIDENT CLEVELAND'S SECOND TERM. 

N THE 4tli of March, 1893, Grover Cleveland entered for the 
second time upon his duties as President of the United States. 
The ceremonies of inauguration drew visitors to Washington 
from all parts of the country, and were of the usual imposing 
character. 

Congress was called together in extraordinary session August 7th, and 
received a message from President Cleveland. The main object of the mes- 
sage was to recommend the immediate repeal of what was known as the 
Sherman law, relating to the purchase of silver by the government for coin- 
age. The session was preceded by a period of great financial depression, 
the closing of many manufacturing establishments and a general disturb- 
ance of the industrial and business interests of the country. A bill for the 
repeal of the obnoxious law was introduced into the House of Representa- 
tives by Hon. William L. Wilson, of West Virginia, and after brief dis- 
cussion was promptly passed by a large majority, August 28th. 

The bill then went to the Senate, where a protracted struggle ensued, 
attended at times by bitter personalities, and by " filibustering " on the 
part of the minority, thereby preventing the majority from declaring its 
expressed will. At length the bill passed the Senate, October 30th, by a 
vote of forty-three to thirty-two. 

The second session of the Fifty- third Congress began on the first Mon- 
day of December, 1893. The most important business was the passage of 
the Tariff bill. The new Tariff bill derived its name from Mr. Wilson, 
Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. 

Preliminary work was begun iipon the bill by the Ways and Means 
Committee of the House in October, 1893, during the extra session called 
by the President for the repeal of the Sherman Silver act. It was reported 
to the House on December 19, and on January 8, 1894, it began to be dis- 
cussed in that body. It passed the House February 1, by a vote of two hun- 
dred and four to one hundred and forty, having been modified in only one 

390 



PRESIDENT CLEVELAND S SECOND TERM. 391 

important feature — sugar being made free of duty. On the 2d of February 
it was reported to the Senate and at once referred to the Finance Committee, 
Promptly on receiving the Wilson bill, the Finance Committee gave 
over its task to a sub-committee, consisting of Mills, Jones and Vest, who 
completed a bill on tariff-reform lines, making a few changes in the 
Wilson bill. This was reported to the full committee on February 26th. 
Thereupon, Air. Gorman called together the Democratic caucus to instruct 
the sub-committee to go to work again, and reconstruct the bill so that it 
would suit the Protectionist Democratic Senators. 

Important Alterations in the Tariff Bill. 

The sub-committee made a new bill, " amending " the Wilson bill in 
several hundred particulars, and altering its character in a protectionist 
sense. It was reported to the Senate on March 20th, but was still unsat- 
isfactory. On May 5th, Mr. Gorman called another caucus to secure 
unanimity, after which, on May 8th, some four hundred new amend- 
ments were reported. 

" The Senate bill " had assumed its final form. On July 3d it passed 
the Senate, and on the 7th — the House rejecting the 634 Senate amend- 
ments in gross — consideration of points of disagreement between the two 
Houses was begun in the conference committee. The Senate conferees 
presented an ultimatum — " the Senate bill as it is or no tariff legislation." 

The House conferees demanded free raw materials, and no protection 
for sugar, but in vain. On July 19th, Mr. Wilson reported the continued 
disagreement to the House, at the same time making public the Pres- 
ident's letter insisting on free raw materials. In the Senate, Mr. Gorman 
replied in a defiant speech, full of personal flings. 

After a week of sensations. Senator Hill's proposal to recede from the 
amendments putting a duty on ore and coal was voted down, and the bill 
sent back to conference. After some further dickering by the " compro- 
misers," and an attempt on the part of Mr. Hill to kill the bill in the 
Senate, the House became alarmed at the supposed prospect of failure of 
all tariff legislation, and on August 13th passed the Senate bill. On the 
same day the House passed four bills, putting sugar, coal, ore and barbed 
wire on the free list, but they were not acted on b}^ the Senate. 

The President neither signed nor vetoed the Tariff bill, and it became 
a law without his signature, taking effect August 28, 1894. 



392 PRESIDENT CLEVELAND S SECOND TERM. 

Early in 1891 active preparations were commenced for the appropriate 
celebration of the fonr hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America 
by Columbus. As the centennial anniversary of American independence 
in 187C had been commemorated by an International Exposition at Phila- 
delphia, in which nearly all the civilized nations of the earth participated, 
it was resolved to celebrate the discovery of the New World by an exhi- 
bition of grander proportions, as the only suitable method of giving dignity 
to the great occasion. The whole country became interested in the project, 
and it was advocated with unanimity by the newspaper press. 

A hot rivalry at once sprang up between a number of cities, each of 
which was eager to obtain the honor of furnishing a site for the World's 
Fair. The friendly strife finally narrowed itself down to New York and 
Chicago, but the dif&culty of obtaining a convenient site for the exhibition 
operated strongly as a barrier against the former city. 

Site for the World's Fair. 

The act of Congress, which definitely selected Chicago as the city in 
which the Exposition should be held, and which fixed the dates of the 
celebration to be held in 1892, and the formal opening and closing of the 
Exposition in 1893, was approved by the President of the United States, 
April 25, 1890. Jackson Park, where the Exposition buildings were located, 
is beautifully situated on Lake Michigan, having a lake frontage of two 
miles, and embraces 586 acres. 

The ground was prepared for a system of lagoons and canals from 
100 to 300 feet wide, which, with the broad, grassy terraces leading 
down to them, passed the principal buildings, enclosed a wooded island 
1,800 feet long, and formed a circuit of three miles, navigable by 
pleasure boats. 

These canals, which were crossed by many bridges, connected with 
the lake at two points: one at the southern limit of the improved portion 
of the park, and the other more than half a mile farther south, at the 
great main court of the Exposition. At this point, extending eastward 
into the lake 1,200 feet, were piers which afforded a landing-place for the 
lake steamers, and enclosed a harbor for the picturesque little pleasure 
boats of all epochs and all nations. 

This harbor was bounded on the east, far out in the lake, by the long 
columned facade of the Casino, in whose free spaces crowds of men and 



I 



PRESIDENT CLEVELAND' S SECOND TERM. 393 

women, protected by its ceiling of gay ownings, looked east to the lake 
and west to the long vista between the main edifices as far as the gilded 
dome of the Administration Building. The first notable object in this 
vista was the colossal statue of Liberty rising out of the lagoon at the 
point where it enters the land, protected by moles, which carried sculptured 
columns emblematic of the thirteen original States of our Union. Beyond 
this, beyond the first of many bridges, was a broad basin from which 
grassy terraces and broad walks led, on the north, to the south eleva- 
tion of the Main Building, and on the south to the Agricultural Building. 

The Dedication Oeremonies. 

The grounds and buildings were so nearly ready that the dedication 
ceremonies were held in October, 1892. The celebration in New York 
extended over several days, ending on the 12tli of October, and consisted 
of a magnificent military and naval parade. Vast numbers of people 
flocked to the metropolis from surrounding towns, and even distant locali- 
ties, and participated in the festivities. The greatest celebration, however, 
was in Chicago, occupying several days, and attended b}^ multitudes of 
people. Vice-President Morton was present, also the governors of a number 
of the States, together with distinguished persons from all parts of the 
country, including President Harrison's Cabinet, army and navy officers, 
and members of Congress. 

On Monday, the 1st day of May, 1893, in the presence of 300,000 
people, Grover Cleveland, President of the United States, surrounded by 
the members of his Cabinet, by a distinguished representation from lands 
across the seas, and a mighty throng of American citizens, pressed the 
electric button which set in motion the miles of shafting, the innumerable 
engines and machines, and the labyrinth of belting and gearing which 
which made up the machinery of the World's Columbian Exposition. At 
the same moment a National salute pealed forth from the gun, the "Andrew 
Johnson," lying off the Exposition grounds, in Lake Michigan; 700 flags 
released from their "stops" at a concerted signal swung loose, and streamed 
out under the sky in scarlet, yellow and blue. 

Over in Machinery Hall a great roar arose, and the turrets of the build- 
ing shook as the wheels began to turn, and a greater volume of sound arose 
from the throats of a concourse of people wdio thus acclaimed the opening 
of the grandest achievement of American pluck, enterprise and generosity. 




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394 



PRESIDENT CLEVELAND'S SECOND TERM. 395 

From the center of the platform proper there radiated a special stand, 
and npon this M^ere chairs for President Cleveland, Vice-President Stevenson, 
the Dnke of Veragua and his party, and the higher National and local 
officers of the Fair. Immediately in the rear were the sections assigned 
to the members of the Diplomatic Corps, while to their right and left the 
gnests of the occasion were arranged; behind these were placed the orchestra. 
In front of all, occupying the two wings on the right and left of the 
speakers' stands, was provision for some 300 representatives of the press, 
who represented nearly every civilized nation on the face of the globe. 

Prayer was offered by Rev. W. H. Milburn, D. D., Chaplain of the 
United States Senate, after which a poem, M-ritten by Mr. W. A. Crofifutt, 
was read. Then followed addresses by the Hon. George R. Davis, Director- 
General of the Exposition, and President Cleveland. 

Opening of the Great Exposition. 

•As the President was concluding the final sentence of his address his 
eyes wandered to the table that was close at his left hand. Upon this was 
the button, the pressure upon which was to start the machinery and make 
the opening of the Exposition an accomplished fact. It was an ordinary 
form of Victor telegraph ke}^, such as in use in most telegraph offices, 
except that it was of gold instead of steel, and a button of ivory instead 
of rubber. It rested upon a pedestal upholstered in navy blue and golden 
yellow plush, and on the sides of the lower tier, in silver letters, were the 
significant dates, 1492 and 1893. As the last words fell from the Presi- 
dent's lips he pressed his finger upon the button. 

This was the signal for a demonstration difficult of imagination, and 
infinitel}^ more so of description. At one and the same instant the 
audience burst into a thundering shout ; the orchestra pealed for the 
strains of the Hallelujah Chorus; the wheels of the great Ellis engine in 
Machinery Hall commenced to revolve; the electric fountains in the lagoon 
threw their torrents towards the sky ; a flood of water gushed from the 
McMonnies Fountain and rolled back again into the basin; the thunder 
of artillery came from the vessels in the lake; the chimes in jManufac- 
turers' Hall and on the German Building rang out a merry peal, and, 
overhead, the flags at the tops of the poles in front of the platform fell 
apart and revealed two gilded models of the ships in which Columbus first 
sailed to American shores. 



39G PRESIDENT CLEVELAND' S SECOND TERM. 

At the same moment also hundreds of flags of all nations and all 
colors were unfurled within sight of the platform. The largest was a great 
" Old Glor}'," which fell into graceful folds from the top of the centre staff 
in front of the stand. The roof of the Manufacturers' Building was gorgeous 
in red gonfalons, while the Agricultural Building was dressed in ensigns 
of orange and white. It was a wonderful scene of transformation, and amid 
it all cannon continued to thunder and the crowd to cheer. It was fully 
ten minutes before the demonstration subsided. Then the band played 
'' America " and the exercises were at an end. The Columbian Exposition 
was open to the nations of the world. It M^as precisely the hour of noon 
when President Cleveland touched the button and thus declared the open- 
ing an accomplished fact. 

The Last Day of the Fair. 

The official time for closing the Fair was October 30th. Six months 
before it was opened with splendid pageantry, and a thousand bright new 
banners were unfurled, while a hundred thousand spectators cheered. On 
the closing day the weather-stained banners ^vere pulled down almost in 
silence. Those that represented foreign countries were not raised again. 
Only the American flag floated afterwards over the buildings. A public 
meeting was held at 4.30 in Festival Hall. Several addresses were deliv- 
ered and resolutions Avere passed, but there was no ceremony by Exposition 
officials. At 5 o'clock there was a little puff of smoke from the United 
States steamer " Michigan," which lay at anchor off the grounds. Twenty 
more peals followed. 

All the flags had been at half-mast ; but when the twenty-first gun 
was fired they were pulled simultaneousl}^ to the flagstaff's peak, and, after 
fluttering there for a moment, as if in farewell, the}^ went down for the last 
time, and the official announcement was made that the World's Columbian 
Exposition as an international affair was at an end. Taps were sounded, 
and the Innes Band played "The Star-spangled Banner." This was a 
spontaneous demonstration, and for the first time the people cheered. 

The following are the official figures for the paid admissions to the 
Fair: May, 1,050,037 ; June, 2,075,113 ; July, 2,760,263 ; August, 3,515,493 ; 
September, 4,659,871 ; October, 6,816,435 ; making 21,477,212. The total 
admissions on passes were 2,052,188, making a grand total of 23,529,400. 

After every debt of the World's Fair was paid there remained $1,000,000 




THOMAS A. EDISON 




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PRESIDENT CLEVELAND' S SECOND TERM. 397 

to be distributed among the stockholders. The treasurer made this pleasant 
announcement on the closing day. The Exposition Company paid out 
$30,558,849.01, or three times the amount the managers expected to spend 
when they commenced building the Fair. The gate receipts during the 
Exposition period proper were a little over |10,000,000. Up to the last day 
$3,300,000 had been collected from concessionaries. The returns from those 
who held concession privileges was one of the big surprises of the Fair. 
Nobod}^ was reckless enough to predict that that sum would be realized. 
The Paris Exposition received but $80,000 from that source, while in 1876 
the Centennial Exposition managers received $1,200,000. 

The events during Mr. Cleveland's second term of office included two 
issues of bonds to maintain the gold reserve. Another issue was provided 
for and the subscription was opened in New York, February 20, 1895. Sub- 
scriptions for $60,000,000 were made in a few minutes. 

On April 8, 1895, the United States Supreme Court delivered a deci- 
sion respecting the Income Tax law, which declared that the Federal Gov- 
ernment had no authority to collect a tax on incomes derived from State, 
county and municipal bonds. 

A message sent to Congress by President Cleveland concerning the 
dispute between Great Britain and Venezuela, regarding the boundary line 
between Venezuela and British Guinea, awakened great interest throughout 
the country, and led to the formation of a commission for investigation. 

Bids for $100,000,000 of four per cent, bonds were opened at the Treas- 
ury Department, Thursday, February 6, 1896. There were nearly 4700 
distinct offers, aggregating nearly $700,000,000. This was very substantial 
testimony to the confidence reposed by the people at large in the financial 
stability of our Government. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 



INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY. 




)N tlie beginning of 1896 a remarkable interest was shown by the 
press and the people throughout the country in the pending 
Presidential campaign. There was a stir in the nation like that 
in the forest which precedes the coming storm. Radical differ- 
ences of opinion existed upon the monetar}^ question, and it was 
evident that these would find expression in the national conventions which 
were soon to be held. On the one hand the majority of the Republican 

party were prepared to maintain 
the gold standard. As time ad- 
vanced it became evident that a 
large part of the Democratic 
party had adopted the cause of 
free silver, although President 
Cleveland, Secretary Carlisle, and 
many other influential party 
leaders were opposed to the free 
coinage of silver at the ratio of 
, 16 to 1. The wave of discussion 
~ rose higher and higher and the 
country was filled with clamor. 
Among all classes of citizens 
national questions were largely 
discussed, and the heat and fervor 
of the pending campaign were 
such as had not been witnessed sinca the daj^s of the Civil War. 

The eleventh Republican National Convention met at St. Louis on June 
16th, and nominated as the candidates of the Republican party Hon. Wm. 
McKinley, of Ohio, for President, and Hon. Garret A. Hobart, of New Jer- 
sey for Vice-President. The Convention was an unusually harmonious one, 

398 




WILLIAM McKINLEY. 



INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY. 399 

choosing its platform without debate, excepting for the protests of the advo- 
cates of a plank for the free coinage of silver, who were voted down by 
a large majority. 

Twenty-one silver advocates under the lead of Senator Teller, of Colo- 
rado, thereupon " bolted " from the Convention, and severed their allegiance 
from the Republican party. The scene in the Convention was impressive 
when Senator Teller, under deep emotion, made a farewell address to the 
representatives of the party of which he had so long been a conspicuous 
member, and, followed b}^ twenty of the delegates, left the hall. 

Nomination of McKinley and Hobart. 

Both Mr. McKinley and Mr. Hobart were nominated on the first 
ballot long before the roll call of the States was finished, and the enthu- 
siasm for McKinley was intense. For some time before the holding of the 
Convention, it was plain that Mr. McKinley would be the choice of the 
Republicans, the rising tide in his favor engulfing all opposition. He 
was nominated amidst the acclamations of the vast majority of his party. 

The platform pledged renewed allegiance to the principle of protection . 
declared in favor of the gold standard ; demanded reciprocity ; reasserted 
the Monroe doctrine ; expressed sympathy for suffering Cuba ; demanded 
that the immigration laws be rigidly enforced ; renewed the party's decla- 
rations in favor of civil service ; insisted upon the right of trial by jury 
for criminals, in opposition to lynchings, and recommended arbitration for 
the settlement of the differences which may arise between employers and 
employed engaged in interstate commerce. The nominations and the plat- 
form were favorably received, and were at once heartily ratified by public 
meetings, and the formation of political clubs. 

The Democratic National Convention met at Chicago on July 8th, and 
nominated for President, Hon. William J. Bryan, of Nebraska, and for 
Vice-President, Hon. Arthur Sewall, of Maine. The remarkable feature of 
the Convention was the strength of the supporters of free coinage of silver, 
who constituted over two-thirds of the delegates, and represented chiefly 
Southern and Western States. This turn in the Convention was quite 
unexpected to many, and suddenly revealed a strong sentiment in favor of 
free silver in many parts of the countr}'. Mr. Bryan's nomination was 
largely due to a speech he made in the Convention, which received the 
hearty applause of man}^ of the delegates. 



400 INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY. 

The silver question thus became the prime issue of the national cam- 
paign, and large contingents from both the old parties abandoned former 
political ties, and enrolled themselves on the one side or the other of the 
monetary question. The populous Eastern States were the strongholds of 
the gold standard of currency, and scarcely a doubt was entertained that the 
movement looking towards free coinage of silver by the United States with- 
out waiting for an international agreement could not prevail. The success 
of the silver advocates in the Democratic Convention, however, gave the 
cause of the white metal a great impetus, and roused the people of the 
nation to study the currency question with more earnestness and thought 
than they had ever done before. A campaigi. of education was carried on, 
in which the arguments for and against free coinage of silver were widely 
circulated and discussed. 

The Country Divided on the Silver Question. 

The Democratic platform denounced the gold standard ; opposed the 
issue of bonds in time of peace ; declared in favor of an income tax and 
tariff for revenue only ; recommended that the Federal government have 
more control over railroads ; denounced the arbitrary interference by Fed- 
eral authorities in local affairs, and expressed opposition to a third term. 

The divided state of public sentiment on the silver question appeared 
strikingly in the Convention of the Prohibition j^arty, which was held in 
Pittsburg, ]\Iay 2d. A large number of delegates were present, representing 
all parts of the country. The silver question was thrust into the delibera- 
tions of the Convention, and created great excitement. Many of the dele- 
gates wanted Prohibition, without any other issue; many others wanted 
Prohibition and free silver. The Convention was rent in twain ; the 
seceders met and formed a new party, and the outcome was a complete 
disruption of that very considerable body of citizens who consider legisla- 
tion on the Temperance question the first duty of the nation. 

Hon. Joshua Levering, of Maryland, was nominated by the Prohibi- 
tionists for President, and Hon. Hale Johnson, of Illinois, for Vice-Presi 
dent. The National party nominated Hon. Joseph E. Bentley, of Nebraska 
for President, and Hon. J. H. Southgate, of North Carolina, for Vice-Pres- 
ident. Neither of these parties acted any conspicuous part in the campaign, 
as the financial question overshadowed all others, affecting, as it did, every 
individual in the nation. 



INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY. 401 

A number of influential Democrats expressed a strong opposition to 
the action of the Democratic Convention at Chicago, and resolved that some 
movement should be inaugurated to save the party, if possible, from being 
entirely captured by the advocates of free silver. The sound-money dele- 
gates in the convention, under the leadership of Senator Hill, of New York, 
entered a strong protest against the rule of the majority. This, however, 
was without avail, and during the latter part of the convention those who 
favored the gold standard took no part in the proceedings. 

Convention of Old-line Democrats. 

It was felt by many of the old-line Democrats that something should 
be done to preserve the party name and its time-honored principles. A 
call was issued for a convention to be held at Indianapolis, September 2d. 
The delegates were among the most influential and conservative of the 
Democratic party, and were thoroughly in earnest. A platform was adopted, 
denouncing free-silver coinage, and advocating the gold standard. Strong 
denunciations were hurled at the Populistic notions and ideas so prevalent 
in many of the States. The first paragraph of the platform was as follows: 

"This convention has assembled to uphold the principles upon which 
depend the honor and welfare of the American people, in order that Demo- 
crats throughout the Union may unite their patriotic efforts to avert 
disaster to their country and ruin from their party. The Democratic party 
is pledged to equal and exact justice to all men of every creed and con- 
dition ; to the largest freedom of the individual consistent with good 
government ; to the preservation of the Federal Government in its Consti- 
tutional vigor, and to the support of the States in all their just rights; to 
economy in public expenditures, to the maintenance of the public credit and 
sound money, and it is opposed to paternalism and to all class legislation. 
The declarations of the Chicago Convention attack individual freedom, the 
right of private contract, the independence of the judiciary and the authority 
of the President to enforce Federal laws." 

Hon. John M. Palmer, of Illinois, was nominated for President, and Hon. 
Simon B. Buckner, of Kentucky, for Vice-President. They made an active 
canvass through the country, but failed to unite the Democratic forces to 
any great extent, as it was conceded from the outset that there was no 
possibility of their election. 

The campaign throughout was one of unexampled activity, the eminent 

L^6 



402 INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY. 

leaders of all parties entering tlie contest with great spirit. All the 
influences and resources of the press and of men in public life were brought 
to bear upon the great issues involved, which, it was admitted by all, 
affected the integrity of the nation, if not its very existence. 

Result of the Election. 

In the election of November, Mr. McKinley received 7,101,401 of the 
popular vote; Mr. Bryan, 6,470,656; Mr. Palmer, 132,056, and Mr. Levering, 
130,560. Of the Electoral College, Mr. McKinley received 271 votes, and 
Mr. Bryan 176. 

On the 4th of March, 1897, Mr. McKinley was inaugurated President 
with imposing ceremonies, and Mr. Hobart was inducted into the office of 
Vice-President. A multitude of people from all parts of the country 
assembled in Washington, and nothing occurred to mar the success of the 
inauguration. Mr. McKinley entered upon the duties of his office with the 
best wishes, not only of his party, but of all classes of his fellow-country- 
men. His cabinet was constituted as follows : Secretary of State, John 
Sherman, of Ohio ; Secretary of the Treasury, Lyman J. Gage, of Illinois ; 
Secretary of War, Russell A. Alger, of Michigan ; Attorney-General, Joseph 
McKenna, of California; Postmaster-General, James A. Gary, of Maryland; 
Secretary of the Navy, John D. Long, of Massachusetts ; Secretary of the 
Interior, Cornelius N. Bliss, of New York; Secretary of Agriculture, James 
Wilson, of Iowa. 

Mr. McKinley immediately called an extra session of Congress, whick 
assembled on March 15th, for the express purpose of revising the tariff, 
providing a revenue sufficient for the wants of the Government, and placing 
the finances of the nation upon a sound basis. Hon. Thomas B. Reed, of 
Maine, was re-elected Speaker of the House. 

President McKinley sent a message to Congress, in which he said: 
"Regretting the necessity which has required me to call you together, I 
feel that your assembling in extraordinary session is indispensable because 
of the condition in which we find the revenues of the government. It is 
conceded that its current expenditures are greater than its receipts, and that 
such a condition has existed for now more than three years. With unlimited 
means at our command, we are presenting the remarkable spectacle of 
increasing our public debt by borrowing money to meet the ordinary out- 
lays incident upon even an economical and prudent administration of the 



INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY. 403 

government. An examination of tlie subject discloses this fact in every 
detail and leads inevitably to the conclusion tliat the condition of the 
revenue which allows it is unjustifiable, and should be corrected. 

" Congress should promptly correct the existing condition. Ample 
revenues must be supplied not only for the ordinary expenses of the 
government, but for the prompt payment of liberal pensions and the 
liquidation of the principal and interest of the public debts. In raising 
revenue duties should be so levied upon foreign products as to preserve 
the home market, so far as possible, to our own producers; to revive and 
increase manufactories; to relieve and encourage agriculture; to increase 
our domestic and foreign commerce; to aid and develop mining and build- 
ing, and to render to labor in every field of useful occupation the liberal 
wages and adequate rewards to which skill and industry are justly entitled. 

" The necessity of the passage of a tariff law which shall provide 
ample revenue need not be further urged. The imperative demand of the 
hour is the prompt enactment of such a measure, and to this object I 
earnestly recommend that Congress shall make every endeavor. Before 
other business is transacted let us first provide sufficient revenue to faith- 
fully administer the government without the contracting of further debt, 
or the continued disturbance of our finances." 

Enactment of a New Tariff Bill. 

Congress entered at once upon the discussion of the Dingley tariff 
bill, which had been in preparation for several months by the Ways and 
Means Committee. The most important provisions of the bill related to 
the duties on wool, sugar, tobacco and liquors. The bill had a double 
object, namely, to provide sufiicient revenue for the current expenses of 
the government; and, in addition to this, to protect our American industries 
from the disastrous effects of foreign competition, which was possible mainly 
through the cheap labor system of Europe. The disposition of the American 
people was friendly to a wise and conservative revision of the tariff laws. 

In the House of Representatives the Tariff Bill made rapid progress. 
There was a disposition on the part of all the members to act promptly 
upon the measure, and relieve the country of suspense. It was universally 
felt that uncertainty regarding the Tariff was a fruitful source of business 
depression, and should be removed at the earliest possible moment. 

When the Tariff Bill had been passed by the House it was sent to 



404 INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY. 

the Senate. Here there was more delay, and longer time was required for 
discussing some of the main features of the bill. Several members, also, 
had pet projects which they wished to enact into law, and embodied these 
in the form of amendments to the bill; but so great was the pressure of 
public opinion, and so great the necessity of speedy legislation, that the 
measure passed the Senate in much less time than any similar measure 
had ever done before. Both Houses of Congress finally agreed, and the 
new Tariff Bill was passed on the 24th of July, 1897, and was signed by 
President McKinley on the same day. 

The President immediately sent a message to Congress, recommending 
the appointment of a Commission to consider the currency question, and 
ascertain what changes, if any, should be made. The House was disposed 
to consider the President's recommendation at once, but the Senate imme- 
diately adjourned without taking any action. The disposition of the Presi- 
dent to do all he could to place the finances of the Government on a sound 
basis, and allay the agitation arising from the discussion of the silver 
question, was shown by the appointment of a Commission to confer with 
the Governments of Europe with a view to an agreement respecting 
the coinage of silver. 

The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria occurring in June awakened 
interest throughout the country. Our Government was represented on this 
occasion by Hon. Whitelaw Reid, who was appointed as special ambassador 
to convey the greetings and congratulations of the United States to the 
Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. 

Upon the enactment of the Tariff Bill there were many signs through- 
out the country of returning prosperity, and the great centres of trade felt 
the impulse of new life. Simultaneously came reports of satisfactory crops 
throughout all the agricultural districts, and it was felt that the serious 
business depression which had lasted for several years had come to an end. 




CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

ALASKA AND ITS GOLD-FIELDS. 

)HK nortli-west coast of America was discovered and explored by 
a Russian expedition under Bering in 1741; and, at subsequent 
periods, settlements were made by the Russians at various 
places, chiefly for the prosecution of the fur trade. In 1799, 
the territory was granted to a Russo-American fur company by 
the Emperor, Paul VIII., and in 1839 the charter of the company was 
renewed. New Archangel, in the island of Sitka, was the principal settle- 
ment, but the company had about forty stations. They exported annually 
25,000 skins of the seal, sea-otter, beaver, etc., besides about 20,000 
sea-horse teeth. 

The privileges of the company expired in 1863, and in 1867 the whole 
Russian possessions in America were ceded to the United States, for a 
money payment of $7,200,000. The treaty was signed on the 30th of 
March, and ratified on the 20th of June, 1867; and on the 9th of October, 
following, the possession of the country was formally made over to a mili- 
tary force of the United States at New Archangel. It still remains in the 
military keeping of the United States, under a territorial governor. It has, 
however, been constituted a revenue district, with Sitka as the port of entry. 

Since Alaska was ceded to the United States, considerable information 
has been collected as to the resources of the less sterile parts of the 
country ; but the central and northern parts of this region are only known 
as the inhospitable home of some wandering tribes of Indians and Esqui- 
maux. Portions of Alaska have also been recently explored by the 
employees of the Russo-American Telegraph Company, in surveying a 
route for a line of telegraph, which was designed to cross from America 
to Asia, near Bering Strait — a project which was abandoned, after an 
expenditure of $3,000,000, on communication with Europe having been 
secured by the Atlantic cable. 

The climate of the south-western coast of Alaska is tolerably mild, 
considering its high latitude. The great warm current of the Pacific, 

405 



406 



ALASKA AND ITS GOLD-FIELDS. 



sweeping in a north-easterly circuit from the East Indies Islands, and cor- 
responding very much in character and effects to the Gulf Stream of the 
Atlantic, washes its shores ; and, while it modifies the temperature, also 
causes an excessive rainfall. At Sitka the mean temperature is 42*^ 9', 
and the average rainfall about eighty inches. 



^ JS j\N 



■;v^HERSHEL lO ^" 




^ PA C/FIC 
OCEAN 



MAP OF 

•AND ITS- 

GOLD FIELDS 



Alaska will never have any great agricultural value. From the great 
amount of rain, and the want of heat, cereals grow, but will not ripen, and 
vegetables do not thrive. Native grasses and berries grow plentifully, but 
the chief wealth of the country is in its vast forests, in the furs of its 
wild animals, in the fish with which its rivers and seas abound, and in its 
rich deposits of gold. The forests, rising from the coast, and covering the 
mountains to a height of 2,000 feet, consist of a very durable yellow cedar, 



ALASKA AND ITS GOLD-FIELDS. 407 

spruce, larcli, and fir of great size, and also cypress and hemlock. The 
wild animals include the elk, the deer, and various species of bear, and 
also many fur-bearing animals, such as the wolf and fox, the beaver, 
ermine, martin, otter and squirrel. 

Near the coast and islands, there are innumerable fur-bearing seals 
which are caught in great numbers by the settlers ; but, from the rigor of 
the climate, and the arduous nature of the work, the trapping of the 
animals of the interior is left to the Indians. The salmon abounds in the 
rivers, and there are great banks along the shores, the favorite haunt of 
cod and other fish. Coal and iron are among the most important minerals, 
but the value of the deposits remains to be ascertained. 

In 1896 and 1897, the reports concerning discoveries of rich deposits 
of gold in the northern part of Alaska created much interest throughout 
the country, and a large number of persons set out for the gold-fields, in 
the hope of securing a sudden fortune. 

Immense Territory of Alaska. 

Alaska has an area of 580,107 square miles. It is therefore about 
one-fifth the size of the United States, or nearly equal to the combined areas 
of the New England, Middle and Southern States east of the Mississippi 
River. Of the interior of this vast area we are practically ignorant. Three 
or four reconnoissances have been made by officers of the army through 
portions of the territory, and the courses of several of its great navigable 
rivers have thus been determined. These expeditions, however, were inade- 
quately prepared for the work of exploration ; the journeys were neces- 
sarily made in very great haste, and were confined to the rivers. No sys- 
tematic exploration of the interior has ever been attempted by the gov- 
ernment, and the topography, resources and capabilities of Alaska are 
practically unknown. 

The Eskimo (or Innuit) inhabit the coast line west of the 141st meri- 
aian, excepting the northern part of Cook's Inlet, that portion of the 
Alaskan peninsula west of the 157th meridian, and the Shumagin and 
Aleutian groups of islands. Recent investigators believe that their migra- 
tion to Alaska occurred at the time of general tribal migration resulting in 
the settlement on Greenland. This opinion is strengthened by the fact 
that all the Eskimo tribes, whether on the Alaskan coast, the eastern coast 
or in Greenland, use the same kind of skin-covered canoes. 



408 ALASKA AND ITS GOLD-FIELDS. 

The Aleuts inhabit the northern coast of the Alaskan peninsula, from 
Cape Stroganof westward, and its southern coast from Pavlof Bay westward, 
the Shumagin Islands, and the whole group known as the Aleutian chain, 
extending from the Shumagins in the east to the island of Attoo in the 
west. As to their origin there are various opinions. Some believe they 
have a common origin with the people of Kamtchatka ; others, however, 
urge that they could not have migrated from Asia, owing to lack of facilities, 
and must have descended from the earliest nations of America. 

The}^ are divided into two tribes, Oonalashkans and Atkhas, speaking 
different dialects. They wear ornaments in the nose and upper lip. Their 
weapons consist of barbed darts, lances, spears, harpoons and arrows. They 
also carry a sharp stone knife, ten or twelve inches long. Their household 
utensils are made of stone, wood and bone, mats and baskets neatly woven 
of grass and tree-roots, bone needles, thread and cord of sinews, etc. They 
are very hospitable, and fond of dancing and pantomimics. 

Curious Traditions among the Natives. 

The Aleuts have a tradition that in olden times the climate of their 
country was clearer and warmer, and the winds moderate ; that their fore- 
fathers came from their original dwelling-place in the west — a great land 
called Aliashka^ or Continent; that in that early country peace and pros- 
perity prevailed ; but that in the progress of time dissensions arose, result- 
ing in war, separation and divergent emigration. They also say that in 
their old country there was a very great flood sent upon the people, because 
of their disregard of sacred customs. An able and learned Russian priest 
(Veniaminof ) says : 

" The Aleuts consider as their relatives the Kenaitze, Chugarch, Yaku- 
tats and Kolosh ; but the Kolosh do not acknowledge this. In substantia- 
tion of their claim the Aleuts say that one prominent individual, the father 
of a numerous family, was from necessity compelled to leave his village 
on Oonalashka; in one summer he collected all his family and relatives, 
and departed to the northern side of the Aliashka, with the intention to 
travel and to search for a better and richer country. 

" He landed at first at one of the Aglemute villages ; but the Agle- 
mutes looked upon them as enemies, and in a general attack put them to 
flight. Finding it inconvenient or impossible to settle near the seacoast, 
the Aleuts proceeded to the headwaters of some large river, and, having 



ALASKA AND ITS GOLD-FIELDS. 409 

selected a convenient spot, settled down for good. Their descendants made 
peace with the natives of the country and increased ; but with their increase 
came a greater change in their former customs, appearing principally in the 
greater inclination to war and hunt. 

"After the lapse of considerable time a quarrel ensued between the de- 
scendants of the original Oonalashkans and the Creoles or half-breeds, 
finally resulting in a war. Their village was situated on both sides of the 
stream, one-half opposite the other. They had adopted the habit, for the 
sake of accustoming themselves to war, of making sham attacks, one upon 
the other, shooting spears and arrows without points ; but during one of 
these sham attacks some one placed a head upon his arrow, and hit an 
enemy in the eye. The attack was at once changed from sham to reality ; 
but as the Creoles outnumbered the Oonalashkans the latter were defeated 
and compelled to move farther eastward, and passed from river to river, 
finally emerging upon the shores of the gulf of Kenai, where they finally 
settled down. 

" The present Kenaitze are their descendants. The Creoles left behind 
rapidly increased, and divisions of them moved to the northeastward, and 
finally became the founders of the Chugarchs, Yakutats and Kolosh." 

Remains of Ancient Dwellings. 

In their traditions the Aleuts maintain that in former times the sea- 
shore along the whole group of islands was more deeply indented. In 
some localities this is even j^et perceptible. The grandfathers of the pres- 
ent Aleuts in their youth heard from their grandfathers that they found 
on elevated spots, and often far distant from the sea, signs of former 
dwellings, such as whale-ribs and large logs of drift-wood. 

Between these places and the shore-line they also found small pebbles 
tied with whalebone fiber, such as are now used for sinkers, fish-lines and 
nets. From these indications the Aleuts came to the conclusion that at 
one time these elevated positions, showing the remains of dwelling-places, 
were on the sea-shore, and over the places w^here the sinkers were found 
the sea once extended. But all this was subsequent to the flood. 

With regard to the volcanoes the Aleuts believe that in olden times 
all the " fire mountains " on Oonalashka and Ounimak islands quarreled 
among themselves as to which had the largest body of fire within, and 
after a prolonged dispute, in which not one would yield to the others, they 



410 ALASKA AND ITS GOLD-FIELDS. 

concluded to settle the dispute by a trial of strength. Immediately a ter- 
rible conflict ensued, lasting for many days, the mountains throwing fire 
and rocks at each other. The smaller peaks could not withstand the larger 
ones, and recognizing their weakness, bowed down and went out forever. 

Fables Ooncerning Volcanoes." 

The conflict continued until but two craters remained, one on Oona- 
lashka — Makushin (Ayak), and the other on Cunimak — Recheshnaia 
'Ismak). These, having vanquished all the others, engaged in a single- 
handed conflict, with the most disastrous consequences to their surround- 
ings. Fire, rock and ashes were thrown in such quantities that all 
animals inhabiting the neighborhood perished, and the air became heavy. 
The Ounimak crater finally could not keep up with its rival, and, see- 
ing destruction impending, gathered all its strength, jumped up with a 
bound and collapsed. The Makushin volcano, being victor and but little 
injured, and seeing no more enemies around him, gradually calmed down, 
and now only smokes occasionally. 

Sitka is the capital of Alaska, but Juneau, although but ten j-ears 
old, is to-day the largest town. It is situated about 80 miles northeast 
of the capital, opposite Douglas Island, at the foot of a range of shel- 
tering mountains, which rise abruptly two thousand feet from the end 
of every street. These streets seem to follow the gulches or ravines. At 
precent Juneau is simply a mining camp, founded in 1880 by Joseph 
Juneau and Richard Harris; but it is destined to become the most import- 
ant commercial point upon the entire coast. This is owing to the prox- 
imity of the precious metal, the "Silver Bow Basin" gold placer mines 
lying immediately back of the town, while in front, but three miles away, 
■on Douglas Island, is the famous Treadwell mine. It is believed several 
other good "claims" exist in the immediate neighborhood which have not 
yet been developed. 

The town contains a number of shops, where a system of barter is 
carried on between the Indian hunter and the white trader. Upon arriving 
in town with the skins the red man visits every shop and trader before he 
parts with his goods, and finally disposes of his skins to the highest bid- 
der. He receives in payment a number of blue or red tickets, which are 
taken by the storekeeper in exchange for such commodities as he may 
require to carry back to his lunuit home. 



ALASKA AND ITS GOLD-FIELDS. 411 

All native villages on the Alaskan coast are built directly on the 
beach, not only because the Indians look to the sea for a living, but to 
make homes inland means such labor of felling trees and clearing the 
ground as only the white race undertakes. In the genuine Alaskan lodge 
there is no window, but one door, and no second story. In the center of 
the floor on the ground is a fire-place, around which, at a distance of 
several feet, runs a continuous platform, which constitutes the sleeping 
apartments. Occasionally the room is divided b}^ curtains. 

The ground beneath the platform constitutes kitchen and reception- 
room. The head of the house sits opposite the door, his family and friends 
on either side, while slaves, if there be any, sit with their backs to the 
door. In front of many of the houses stand one or more large poles, 
carved from top to bottom, generally representing bears, whales, eagles, 
ravens or wolves. These are the genealogical trees of the natives, of which 
they are very proud, and tell the family history. 

Alaska's Traffic in Furs. 

The chief industry of Alaska is the seal-fur trade, which is described 
elsewhere. In addition to this there is considerable traffic in sea-otter, land- 
otter, and other furs, and in fish, and a small production of minerals and 
timber. Notwithstanding efforts made by the United States government 
for the preservation of the fur-bearing animals in Alaska, the supply 
(excepting the fur-seals which are adequately protected) is continually 
decreasing, and may ultimately become extinct. 

On the other hand, the fisheries of Alaska are annually increasing in 
importance, and are destined to become the staple industry of the future. 
The catch of salmon is already assuming large proportions, and the number 
of canneries is rapidly increasing. The largest fishing-port is at Killisnoo, 
and at this port alone 300,000 gallons of herring oil are shipped annually. 
The large shipments of dog-fish oil and whale oil form no inconsiderable 
part of the commerce of the country. 

In minerals, there is on Douglas Island a mountain of gold-ore, but 
of low grade. The cost of securing the ore is, however, very small. There 
is no descending into the bowels of the earth with hydraulic machines. 
The miners chip away in broad daylight, with ore enough in sight to last 
a score or more of years, and within a stone's throw of the mountain is 
the mill which receives and reduces the ore. The summit and part of one 



412 ALASKA AND ITS GOLD-FIELDS. 

side of the mountain have already been eaten up. The present annual 
production is nearly $1,000,000. 

The only important breeding grounds of the fur-seals at present are 
the Pribyloff (or Pribylov) Islands, lying in the heart of Bering Sea, about 
192 miles north of Oonalashka, 200 miles south of Matthews, and about 
200 miles westward of Cape Newenham, on the main land. Two of these 
islands, St. George and St. Paul, by reason of their temperature, surface, 
and facilities for landing, are specially adapted for the perfect life and 
reproduction of these valuable fur-bearing animals. They are located in 
the Japan Ocean current, and hence the normal temperature is much 
warmer than that of the surrounding seas. 

These islands are also so enveloped by dense fogs as to furnish a com- 
paratively secure hiding-place for the seals. St. Paul is about 13 miles 
long and 6 miles in its greatest width. It has a superficial area of 21,120 
acres, with a shore line of 42 miles, over 16 of which are adapted for the 
passage of the seals. St. George is about 10 miles long, and over 4 miles 
in width, and contains about 27 square miles. 

Islands Populated -with Seals. 

During the short summer the fur-seals seek these islands in immense 
numbers to rest for two or three months on land, on a hard, smooth sur- 
face, with a cooling, moist atmosphere, which they must have during their 
breeding season. They find here the admirably adapted grounds of basaltic 
rock, and of volcanic cement, slopes of gradual ascent from the sea fur- 
nishing a quiet resting-place for millions of this intelligent species. 

The islands of St. Paul and St. George in Alaska are the only known 
breeding-grounds of the fur-seal. From early spring until late autumn fur- 
seals are found in all that part of the North Pacific inclosed by the Alaska 
coast from latitude 54 deg. 40 min. to Mount St. Klias, and thence west- 
ward along Prince William Sound to the east side of Kenai peninsula, and 
along the Alaska peninsula, and its continuation, the Aleutian chain of 
islands. In Bering Sea the fur-seal has not been seen north of latitude 
58 deg. In the spring only are they found in large numbers in the 
vicinity of the Straits of Fuca, and along the coast of Vancouver and 
Queen Charlotte Islands. 

During the general migration to and from the breeding-grounds several 
of the passes through the Aleutian chain are crowded with adults in the 



ALASKA AND ITS GOLD-FIELDS. 413 

spring, and young seals in the autumn. After leaving their breeding- 
grounds they scatter over the broad Pacific to localities where elevated 
submarine plateaus furnish them with abundant feeding-grounds (of fish), 
until the instinct of reproduction calls them from all directions to the 
islands named above. 

The sea-otter seems to make its home chiefly on a line parallel with 
the Japanese current, from the coast of Japan along the Kurile Island to 
the coast of Kamtchatka, and thence westward along the Aleutian chain, 
the southern side of the Alaskan peninsula, the estuaries of Cook's Inlet 
and Prince William's Sound, and thence eastward along the Alaskan coast, 
the Alexander Archipelago, British Columbia, and the States of Washing- 
ton and Oregon. Sea-otters are most abundant from the island of Ounimak 
northeasterly along the Alaskan peninsula. 

Valuable Fur-bearing Animals. 

The land-otter is one of the most widely distributed of fur-bearing 
animals, ranking in this respect next to the common fox. The skin, how- 
ever, is much more valuable, and is used in the manufacture of an imita- 
tion seal-skin. In Alaska the land-otter is found on the whole coast from 
the southern boundary to the northern shore of Norton Sound, also on 
most of the islands, and along the whole coast of the Yukon as far as known. 

The beaver, the brown bear, the mink, the cross, blue, and white fox, 
the marten, and a few other fur-bearing animals are also found in many 
parts of Alaska, and some of them widely distributed and in immense 
numbers of the several districts. 

And now a general word about the Yukon river and its tributaries. 
What the Amazon is to South America, the Mississippi to the central 
portion of the United States, the Yukon is to Alaska. It is a great inland 
highway, which will make it possible for the explorer to penetrate the 
mysterious fastnesses of that still unknown region. The Yukon has its 
source in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, and the Coast Range 
Mountains in South-eastern Alaska, about 125 miles from the city of 
Juneau, which is the present metropolis of Alaska. 

But it is only known as the Yukon river at the point where the 
Pelly river, the branch that heads in British Columbia, meets with the 
Lewis river, which heads in South-eastern Alaska. This point of confluence 
is at Fort Selkirk, in the Northwest Territory, about 125 miles south-east 



414 ALASKA AND ITS GOLD-FIELDS. 

of the Klondike. The Yukon proper is 2,044 miles in length. From Fort 
Selkirk it flows north-west 400 miles, just touching the Arctic circle 5 
thence southward for a distance of 1,600 miles, where it empties into 
Bering Sea. It drains more than 600,000 square miles of territor}^, and 
discharges one-third more water into Bering Sea than does the Missis- 
sippi into the Gulf of Mexico. At its mouth it is sixty miles wide. About 
1,500 miles inland it widens out from one to ten miles. 

A thousand islands send the channel in as many different directions. 
Only natives, who are thoroughly familiar with the river, are entrusted 
with the piloting of boats up the stream during the season of low water. 
Even at the season of high water, it is still so shallow as not to be nav- 
igable anywhere by sea-going vessels, but only by flat-bottomed boats, with 
a carrying capacity of four to five hundred tons. 

An Immense River of Ice. 

A further fact must be borne in mind. The Yukon river is abso- 
lutely closed to travel save during the summer months. In the winter the 
Frost King asserts his dominion, and locks up all approaches with impen- 
etrable ice, and the summer is of the briefest. It endures only for ten or 
twelve weeks, from about the middle of June to the early part of Sep- 
tember. Then an unending panorama of extraordinary picturesqueness is 
unfolded to the voyager. 

The banks are fringed with flowers, carpeted with all-pervading moss 
or tundra. Birds, countless in numbers, and of infinite variety in plumage, 
sing out a welcome from every tree top. Pitch your tent where you will 
in midsummer, a bed of roses, a clump of poppies, and a bunch of blue 
bells will adorn your camping. But high above this paradise of almost 
tropical exuberance, giant glaciers sleep in the summit of the mountain 
wall, which rises up from a bed of roses. By September everything is 
changed. The bed of roses has disappeared before the icy breath of the 
Winter King, which sends the thermometer down to eighty degrees below 
freezing point. The birds fly to the south-land, the white man to his 
cabin, the Indian to his hut, and the bear to his sleeping chamber in the 
mountains. Every stream becomes a sheet of ice, mountain and valley 
alike are covered with snow. 

The part of the basin of the Yukon in which gold in greater or less 
quantities has actually been found lies partly in Alaska and partly in 



ALASKA AND ITS GOLD-FIELDS. 415 

British territory. It covers an area of some 50,000 square miles. But so 
far the infinitely richest spot lies some one hundred miles west of the 
American boundary, in the region drained by the Klondike and its tribu- 
taries. This is some three hundred miles by river from Circle City, which 
marks the extreme limit beyond which even flat bottom boats cannot find 
a navigable passage. 

We have described some of the beauties of the Yukon basin in the 
summer season, but this radiant picture has its obverse side. In the first 
place the heat is as terrible as the cold in winter. It frequentl}^ mounts 
up to 120 in the shade. 

Horseflies, gnats and mosquitoes add to the discomforts of living 
throughout the entire length of the Yukon Valley. The horsefly is larger 
and more poignantly assertive than the insect which we know by that 
name. In dressing or undressing it has an impertinent habit of detecting 
any bare spot in the body and biting out a piece of flesh, leaving a wound 
which a few days later looks like an incipient boil. Schwatka reports that 
one of his party so bitten was completely disabled for a week. " At the 
moment of infliction," he adds, " it was hard to believe that one was not 
disabled for life." 

The mosquitoes, according to the same authority, are equally distress- 
ing. They are especially fond of cattle, but without any reciprocity of 
affection. '' According to the general terms of the survival of the fittest 
and the growth of muscles most used to the detriment of others," says the 
lieutenant in an unusual burst of humor, " a band of cattle inhabiting this 
district in the far future would be all tail and no body, unless the mos- 
quitoes should experience a change of numbers." 




CHAPTER XXXIX. 

MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS. 

BT us suppose that we enter a ship at New York and sail to the 
south, along the eastern coast of the United States. After 
passing between Florida and Cuba we shall enter the Gulf of 
Mexico, and after a voyage of about five weeks shall reach 
Vera Cruz, in Mexico. We shall see nothing very interesting 
at Vera Cruz except the strong fortress of San Juan de Ulloa ; so M^e will 
set out immediately for the city of Mexico. We shall find it situated 
on a vast plain, spreading to the north for many hundred miles, and 
elevated six or seven thousand feet above the level of the sea. It 
occupies a delightful valley, surrounded by mountains, whose tops are 
always covered with snow, and some of which occasionally send forth vol- 
umes of fire and smoke. 

We shall be delighted with the city of Mexico at first; for in many- 
respects it is one of the most charming places in the world. Being so high, 
it is visited, at all seasons of the year, with fresh breezes, like those of 
spring. The gardens are full of delicious fruits and fragrant flowers. 
There are groves of lemon and orange trees ; melons of every kind abound; 
and the whole face of nature is covered with the most luxuriant vegeta- 
tion. The forests are thronged with birds of bright plumage ; the hills are 
adorned with wild flowers of surpassing beauty ; and the very air is filled 
with fragrance, which comes from the meadows and groves. 

In the city is a large church, called the Cathedral. On entering this 
church 3'ou will be amazed at the splendor of its interior. The altar is 
surrounded by a railing of solid silver; and there is a lamp of the same 
metal, so large that three men get into it when it is to be cleaned. It is 
enriched with lions' heads and other ornaments of pure gold. There are 
also in this Cathedral many statues of saints made of silver and ornamented 
with precious stones. Many other buildings in Mexico are lofty and spa- 
cious, and, being built of stone, have a magnificent appearance. There are 
many splendid palaces, surrounded with fountains, fragrant groves and beau- 

416 



MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS. 417 

tiful gardens. We shall observe that the people have a sallow complexion, 
with black hair and black eyes. 

This country has many objects of interest — some natural, some artifi- 
cial. Of the latter are the antiquarian relics of an earlier civilized race, 
and also of the Aztecs, who conquered them, many centuries before they 
were themselves conquered by the Spaniards. Some of these Aztec monu- 
ments are now included in the territory of the United States; and on the 
south bank of the river Gila, there are ruins of a city covering three miles 
square, called Casa Grande, or Great House, from a vast square building, 
set east and west, whose walls are of immense thickness. Fragments of 
pottery strew the surrounding plain. Among the most interesting natural 
objects are the lofty peaks of Orizaba and Popocatapetl. 

Government of the Country. 

The country of Mexico is divided into provinces, which are united 
under a general government, and have a national constitution similar to 
ours. But there are frequent disturbances in the country, and every thing 
seems to be in rather an unsettled state. 

Before we leave Mexico, we should, if possible, go and see the silver 
mines. These are among the richest in the world, and yield several millions 
of dollars every year. As they lie among the mountains, at a considerable 
distance, we must again hire some mules, and obtain a guide. As we proceed 
on our journey we shall meet with a great many of the native Indians, 
who bear a strong resemblance to the savages of our country. Most of 
them are partly civilized, and some of them live in villages, quietly pur- 
suing the various occupations of life. But when, at last, we reach the 
mines, we shall, perhaps, hardly have the courage to go into them. They 
are vast pits dug in the earth, some of them having a depth of more than 
a thousand feet. In these deep and dark caverns the miners are constantly 
occupied in digging the ore, which is taken from the mines, and afterwards 
the pure silver is separated from the dross. 

If any of our young readers are tired of the sea, they may return to 
'he United States by way of Santa Fe. They must travel on mules, or on 
loot, eleven hundred miles in a northerly direction, from the city of Mexico, 
have trusty guides, and be well armed. They will sometimes proceed, for 
days together, over vast plains ; and perhaps one of the first things they 
see will be a wild, tawny, bright-eyed man, on a small but spirited horse, 

27 



418 MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS. 

careering at full speed after a herd of cattle, or chasing its frightened and 
scattered individuals. Strong, and active, and expert, he pulls one, and 
another, and another, down to the ground with his lasso, hamstrings them, 
disentangles his lasso, and then chases another victim. 

When he has brought down enough, he butchers and skins them, and 
after the skins, which are called hides, are dried, he brings them to the 
trading-house, or hurls them down some one of the rocky precipices which 
line the coast, upon the sandy beach below. Here they are gathered up by 
the crews of the vessels at anchor, a short distance off, and carried 
aboard in boats. 

They will often meet with Indians in their journey, some of them 
living in villages, and some roving through the wilderness. They will 
occasionally see cougars and fierce animals called jaguars. They will also 
meet with many wild animals and strange birds and towns filled with 
people, some of whom are white, some black, some red. After meeting with 
many adventures, my young friends will reach Santa Fe. 

A Mixed Population. 

Mexico is a vast country, containing twelve millions of inhabitants. 
Some of these are white, like the people of the United States, and are 
descended from Spanish emigrants, who settled in the country many years 
ago. There are negroes, also, who were originally slaves brought from 
Africa. A large part of the population are Indians, whose fathers once 
possessed the country, as the Indians possessed the land in the United 
States, before the Europeans came and took it from them. A little more 
than three hundred years ago, Mexico was inhabited only by Indians. 
But they were not savages, living in the woods, and subsisting upon wild 
beasts ; on the contrary, they had large towns, splendid buildings, and an 
established government. 

The king resided at the City of Mexico, then called Tenuchtitlan. It 
was a magnificent city, filled with temples, towers, and palaces. It sur_ 
passed everything else of the kind, that then existed in America, in rich, 
ness and grandeur. It was in the year 1519 that the Spaniards first 
heard of this great kingdom. Expecting to get a great deal of gold and 
silver, they determined to send some men to conquer it. Accordingly, six 
hundred soldiers, commanded by Fernando Cortez, set out for Mexico^ 
Firearms were not then in general use, so that only thirteen of the men 



MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS. 



419 



had muskets. Tlie rest were variously armed with crossbows, swords, and 
spears. They had, however, ten small field-pieces, and sixteen horses, the 
first of these animals ever seen by the natives. They went in eleven 
small vessels, and soon reached the coast of Mexico. 

They entered the mouth of a river, but the Indians came in multi- 
tudes to the shore, to oppose their landing. Cortez tried to make peace 
with them, but they refused to listen, and hurled a shower of stones and 
arrows upon the fleet. The vessels were soon ranged in a circle, and, the 
cannon being loaded, they were dis- 



charged among the crowd. The 
Indians were utterly astonished at 
the thunder and the smoke, and 
frightened by the havoc which the 
cannon made among the people. 
They, therefore, ran away, and shut 
themselves up in a fortified town, 
called Tabasco. 

Cortez landed his men, and 
proceeded to the town. This was 
surrounded with stakes, and the 
Indians defended it as well as they 
could. But they were soon over- 
come, and, flying to the forests, 
the Spaniards entered the place in 
triumph. But the next day, Cortez 
was informed that about forty thou- feiinando cortez. 

sand natives were coming against him. He, therefore, left the town, placed 
his men in good situation, and waited for the attack. 

At length they came, seeming as countless as the trees of the forest. 
The greater part of them were almost naked. Some were armed with 
bows and arrows ; some with spears ; some with clubs ; some with wooden 
swords ; and others with slings, by means of which they could hurl large 
stones with great force. They had martial music, produced by flutes made 
of reeds and by large shells, and drums formed of the trunks of trees. 

On they came, the little band of Spaniards waiting for them in silence. 
With a terrible cry, the Indians rushed upon them. Then the cannon 
opened their mouths, and poured their deadly shot upon the multitude. 




420 MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS. 

Many of tliem were slain ; but the Indians bravely stood their ground, and 
showered upon the Spaniards such a cloud of arrows as to darken the air. 
The ranks of the latter were at length broken, and they were on the 
point of being defeated. 

At this critical moment, Cortez, who was stationed in the woods near 
by, sallied out upon the Indians with a small troop of horse. Now, the 
Indians had never seen a horse before, and believing each trooper with his 
horse to be some horrible monster, they were struck with superstitious 
dread, and, turning from the fight, ran away like a flock of sheep. Bight 
hundred of their number lay dead on the field of battle, while the Span- 
iards lost only two men. 

Cortez and the Chiefs Form a Treaty of Peace. 

Cortez had taken some prisoners, but he treated them kindly, and dis- 
missed them, having given them some presents. They went away very 
much pleased, and told their countrymen what had passed. The Indians 
now dismissed their fears, and some of them brought the Spaniards pro- 
visions. After this, the chief sent to Cortez, requesting peace, and a treaty 
was accordingly entered into between him and the Spanish leader. Then 
the chief came, with some of his principal men, to see Cortez, who received 
them graciously. While they were talking together, one of the horses 
neighed. The Mexicans were in great fear, and asked what those terrible 
people, with long necks and long tails, would have. Cortez told them they 
were angry because the Mexicans fought the Spaniards. They then ran, 
and got some quilts for the horses to lie upon, and some chickens for 
them to eat, and promised to behave better in future. 

After this, Cortez entered into his vessels, and sailed to a place nearer 
the City of Mexico. Here he landed his troops, and the people, not being 
suspicious, assisted him. By and b}^, some of the Mexican warriors paid 
him a visit. They were magnificently dressed, and gave the Spaniards a 
high idea of the riches of the country. After a while, messengers came 
from Montezuma, the king, inquiring why Cortez and his soldiers came. 

Cortez replied that he could only deliver his answer to the king him- 
self, and requested permission to go to his capital. The king would not 
consent to this, but he sent to Cortez some very magnificent presents. 
Among these were bracelets, necklaces, and other trinkets, wrought in 
solid gold, with the utmost skill and elegance ; boxes filled with precious 



MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS 421 

stones, pearls and gold dust ; and two large orbs, one of massy gold, repre- 
senting the sun ; and the other of silver, representing the moon. 

Cortez received the presents, but still insisted upon going to see the 
king. But another messenger came from Montezuma, forbidding him to 
come. Cortez treated him in a haughty manner, and he was offended; he 
therefore, with all the Mexican people, immediately left the Spaniards. 
Cortez was astonished at this ; but, after a while, he was invited with his 
men to go and see a cacique or chief, who lived at no great distance. 
Accordingly they set out, and after marching a few days, came in sight of 
the town where the cacique lived. At first the soldiers thought the walls of 
the city were made of silver, for they had a white and shining appearance. 
But when they came nearer them, it appeared that they were only plas- 
tered with lime. i 

At length the Spaniards entered the town, and were graciously received 
by the chief. But what was their surprise to find him so fat and bulky 
that he could neither stand up nor walk alone ! They could hardly help 
laughing aloud in his presence. They soon discovered, however, that he 
was a very intelligent man. He treated them kindly, and the people of the 
town supplied them abundantly with all sorts of delicious fruits. 

False and Treacherous to Both Sides. 

Cortez now found that several powerful chiefs hated Montezuma, and 
were anxious to throw off his yoke. Accordingly, he encouraged them to 
rebel, and promised to assist them. At the same time he secretly sent word 
to Montezuma, professing to be his friend, and declaring his intention to be 
devoted to his interests. Thus false and treacherous to both parties, he 
pursued his own selfish schemes. His determination was to dethrone the 
king, overturn the government, and become master of the empire. With 
this view he began to found a Spanish colony at Vera Cruz, the place at 
which, you will recollect, we landed in our imaginary voyage to Mexico. 

But Montezuma was still afraid of Cortez, and he therefore sent two 
of his princes to him with presents of immense value, and a message beg- 
ging him to depart from the country. To this the Spanish leader replied 
that he had been commanded by his king to march to the capital, and 
deliver to the emperor himself a message of the utmost importance, and 
that no danger wdiatever could deter him, or his men, from executing this 
high commission. The princes, struck wdth admiration of the bold character 




SLAUGHTER OF NATIVE MEXICANS BY THE SPANIARDS. 



422 



MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS. 423 

of Cortez, returned to Montezuma, and gave him a full account of what 
they had seen. 

About this time some of the Spanish soldiers had become weary of 
their toils, and foreseeing the dangers to which they would be exposed, 
determined to seize the ships, and return to Cuba. Cortez discovered the 
plot, and, by his artful management, diverted the men from their purpose. 
He was very eloquent, and he addressed the soldiers, setting before them in 
glowing colors his splendid schemes and the immense wealth they would 
all realize should they be successful. Excited by this speech, the soldiers 
ran to the vessels and destroyed them, thus putting it out of their power 
to leave the country. This was exactly what Cortez desired, for he knew 
that the soldiers, having no means of retreat, would fight desperately. 

Fierce Battles with the Indians. 

Cortez now set out with his troops, accompanied by six hundred Indian 
allies, for the purpose of proceeding to Tenuchtitlan. After having marched 
two or three days they reached the Cordilleras. Here was a district lying 
among the mountains called Tlascala. It was inhabited by a nation of 
brave Indians, who had thrown off the authority of Montezuma, and lived 
in independence. Cortez sent messengers to make peace with them, but the 
bold mountaineers would not make peace. They gathered their warriors 
together, and six thousand of them went against the Spaniards. A dreadful 
battle followed, but the Indians were defeated. Three more battles were 
fought; thousands of the Indians were killed; and, finally, the Tlascalans 
sued for peace. 

Peace was accordingly made, and Cortez, being invited to the city of 
Tlascala, the capital, went there with his army. The people received them 
joyfully. The streets were thronged with men, women, and children, who 
rent the air with shouts and acclamations, intermingled with the noise of 
drums, fifes, and other instruments. Young girls strewed their path with 
flowers, and the priests walked before the soldiers with burning incense. 
At length the Spaniards, whom the people called gods, were conducted to a 
large building, where everything was provided for their comfort and pleasure. 

After a little while Cortez set out with six thousand Tlascalan warriors 
to pursue his march towards the capital of Mexico. He was soon met by 
messengers from Montezuma, requesting him to come by way of Cholula. 
Accordingly the army marched to that city. But it was soon discovered 



424 MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS. 

that a plot had been formed to destroy Cortez and his army ; the chiefs of 
Cholula were therefore seized, and the town given up to plunder. For two 
whole days the six hundred Spanish soldiers and the six thousand Tlasca- 
lans went through the city slaughtering men, women, and children. Tears 
and cries obtained no mercy. The houses and streets were everywhere 
stained with blood ; and finally a large temple to which hundreds of the 
inhabitants had fled for safety, was set on fire, and all the miserable 
people in it were consumed. Such was the awful vengeance of Cortez 
towards his enemies ! 

Strange as it may seem, Cortez had the address to make friends of the 
people of Cholula who had escaped the massacre. They became his allies, 
and he marched on towards Tenuchtitlan. After proceeding several days, 
he reached a large city, called Tezcuco. The chief received him kindly, and 
everywhere the people manifested a desire to be released from the harsh 
government of Montezuma. Leaving this place the army proceeded, and 
after crossing some mountains, a beautiful valley of great extent was pre- 
sented to their view. In the midst was a vast lake resembling a sea, and 
villages, cities, and hamlets seemed to rise out of its very bosom. 

First Sight of the Beautiful City. 

Among these, Tenuchtitlan, the capital, could be distinguished by the 
prodigious number of its temples and towers. When the Spaniards first 
looked upon this scene they could scarcely believe their senses. The fertile 
valley, encircled by mountains, whose tops were covered with snow; the rich 
groves of fruit trees, the blue lake, and the cities glittering with gold and 
silver, seemed more like a beautiful dream than a reality. 

At length the army descended into the valley, approached the lake, 
and, crossing one of the bridges, were about to enter the town. Here they 
were met by about a thousand people of distinction, dressed in mantles of 
cotton cloth, with bunches of feathers on their heads. These advanced in 
silence, each, in passing, saluting Cortez with the most profound respect. 
Then came two hundred of the king's attendants, richly dressed; and 
finally Montezuma himself appeared, in a car of gold, borne on the 
shoulders of four men. Some other men held a canopy of green feathers 
over him, and three chiefs, bearing golden wands, walked at the head of the 
company. When these raised their wands the people covered their faces, 
as if they were not worthy of beholding the august person of their king. 



MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS, 425 

Cortez and tlie king now approached each other, the ground being 
covered with carpets, so that Montezuma's feet might not be soiled by 
touching the earth. They met and saluted each other with profound 
respect. Montezuma was about forty years old, and was dressed in a fine 
cotton robe, profusely ornamented with gold and silver. On his head he 
wore a crown of gold. 

After some ceremonies the king entered the city, and the army fol- 
lowed. The city consisted of about twenty thousand houses, with many 
magnificent temples and palaces, far surpassing in grandeur anything that 
had been supposed to exist in America. A large palace was assigned to 
Cortez and his troops, and they were abundantly furnished with all the 
provision they wanted. Here Montezuma visited Cortez, and treated him 
in the most gracious manner. 

They Worshipped a Multitude of Idols. 

We must now tell our readers that the Mexicans knew nothing of 
the Bible, and had never heard of Jesus Christ. They had many absurd 
notions of religion, and paid their worship to a multitude of idols. They 
erected splendid temples in honor of these gods, and entertained for them 
the most profound reverence. Multitudes of priests attended the temples, 
and sacrificed thousands of human beings to their deities. These con- 
sisted chiefly of prisoners taken in war. Their captives were generally pre- 
served, that their blood might be shed by the priests in honor of the gods. 

Now, Cortez was professedly a Christian, and these things shocked 
him very much. He could make war upon a defenceless people, slay them 
by thousands, plot the destruction of their government, and pursue his 
schemes by falsehood, treachery and violence; but the sacrifice of human 
victims to idols appeared to him very wicked and absurd. It may seem 
to us very strange that the Mexicans could imagine the horrid practices 
of their religion were right; but it is still more strange that Cortez could 
believe his conduct was agreeable to the peaceful doctrines of Christianity. 

Montezuma supposed that the strangers would be very much gratified to 
see the Mexican temples. So he went with them, showed them the idols, and 
explained everything. After Cortez had seen it all he told the king that the 
Mexican religion was false and wicked. He also told him something about 
the Christian religion. Montezuma was very much shocked, and he told 
Cortez that he must not speak irreverently of the Mexican gods. 



426 MEXICO AND THE ■ MEXICANS. 

The king was evidently angry, and lie began secretly to take measures 
for killing the Spaniards. But nothing escaped the vigilance of Cortez. 
He quickly discovered the plot, and resorted to a very bold measure for 
defeating it. He went, with about thirty of his bravest men, to the palace 
of the king. They were admitted and received by Montezuma with appa- 
rent friendship. After some conversation Cortez told the king he must go 
with him to his quarters. The monarch was enraged, but Cortez was firm, 
and finding it in vain to resist, the king yielded, and was carried a pris- 
oner to the palace which the Spanish soldiers occupied. 

Montezuma Oompelled to Submit. 

Thus the sovereign of this vast empire was placed in the power of the 
bold and artful Cortez. The latter now began to take measures to humble 
the spirit of Montezuma by assuming a haughty air; and in one instance 
he went so far as to put chains upon him. At length the subdued captive 
summoned his chiefs, and, while the tears flowed from his eyes, acknowledged 
himself a vassal of the King of Spain, and promised to pay him a vast 
sum of money every year. Cortez now became very arrogant, and resolved 
to destroy the images in the Mexican temples. He therefore went to one 
of them for this purpose, but he found the priests and the people deter- 
mined to resist what they deemed a very impious design. Cortez perceived 
that it would be imprudent to proceed further, and accordingly abandoned 
his intention to destroy the temples. 

He was now called to encounter new and unexpected difficulties. Mon- 
tezuma had messengers in all parts of the kingdom, who immediately came 
and informed him if anything remarkable happened. One day some of 
these arrived from the coast with pictures of eighteen European vessels 
that had just come there. Cortez soon learned that the Governor of Cuba, 
having become jealous of him, had sent a thousand men in these ships to 
make him a prisoner or kill him. 

Cortez did not hesitate as to what he should do; he left a hundred 
and fifty men at the city of Tenuchtitlan to preserve order, and set out 
with about two hundred and fifty to meet the Spaniards, who were com- 
manded by Narvaez. He attacked them by night, and after a desperate 
struggle obtained a complete victory. Narvaez was wounded, and he, with 
eight hundred of his men, fell into the hands of Cortez. 

He now proposed to the prisoners to become his soldiers, and to this 



MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS. 427 

they agreed. Thus an event which seemed to threaten his destruction 
resulted in adding eight hundred Spanish soldiers to his little army. 

But now nifessengers came in haste from the capital and informed 
Cortez that the inhabitants had risen, and made an attack upon the soldiers 
he had left, and that, if he did not hasten back, they would all be slain. 
He therefore lost no time, but marched with the greatest expedition, and 
at length re-entered the city. He immediately took possession of his former 
quarters, where he found Montezuma still remaining in the care of his 
troops. They had been fiercely assaulted by the people, who were now 
greatly excited against the Spaniards. 

A Storm of Arrows and Javelins. 

A few days after this four hundred of the soldiers were surrounded in 
the streets, and a violent attack was made upon them by thousands of the 
inhabitants. Stones were hurled from the roofs of the houses, and innumer- 
able arrows and javelins filled the air like a storm of hail. The Spaniards 
hewed their way through crowds of the enemy, and regained their quarters, 
leaving heaps of the slain Indians in the streets. 

But the spirit of vengeance was now thoroughly roused in the Mexi- 
cans, and, heedless of the dreadful slaughter which was made by the can- 
non and muskets, they gathered in immense numbers, and came like a rolling 
torrent against the castle of the enemy. Cortez and his troops, who were 
never unprepared, received the shock with the utmost firmness. They had 
planted their cannon in such a manner that at every discharge many of 
the natives were cut down. But they were not intimidated. 

They rushed to the very gates of the castle, and climbed on each other's 
shoulders in the attempt to scale the walls. They came up to the very 
mouths of the cannon and points of the muskets. As the foremost were 
shot down others filled their places. The air rang with their terrible shouts, 
and the thunder of the cannon was drowned by the uproar of their drums, 
fifes and horns. 

Thus, for a whole day, the assault continued. At night the Mexicans 
withdrew, for their religion did not allow them to continue the battle after 
sundown. But the next morning the fight was renewed, and throughout 
the whole day it did not cease for a moment. Thus for several days the 
siege continued, during which thousands of the Mexicans were killed, and 
one-third part of the cit}^ was laid in ruins. 



428 MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS. 

At length Montezuma, wlio was still with Cortez, appeared upon the 
walls, dressed iu a robe sparkling with jewels. When the people saw him 
they were all silent, and bowed to the earth in the deepest reverence. Then 
Montezuma spoke to them. He told them the Spaniards were his friends 
and begged them to throw down their arms, and go home in peace. The 
people heard this with indignation. At first a gentle murmur was heard 
among the multitude like a breeze sweeping over a forest. But it grew 
deeper and louder, and at length the angry shout of the people burst forth 
like a rushing tempest. Then a thousand arrows flew from the bow strings 
of the Mexicans, and the wounded monarch fell senseless to the ground. 

He was now taken into the castle, and by and by his senses returned. 
But oppressed with shame and indignation he grew frantic ; tore open his 
wounds, upbraided Cortez for his perfidy, rejected with scorn and loathing 
the attempts that were made to convert him to the Christian religion, and 
at length found a release from his sufferings in death. 

A New King Renews the Conflict. 

When the Mexicans saw their monarch fall they were struck with 
amazement, and fearing the immediate vengeance of Heaven, abandoned the 
siege and returned home. But after his death a new king was elected, and 
the attack was renewed. On the top of the high temple, which overlooked 
the Spanish castle, they collected a great many stones and beams to hurl 
down upon their enemies. Cortez went to this temple, with some of his 
bravest men, to drive away the Mexicans. 

An awful struggle followed. The two parties met in the upper part of 
the building, and the Mexicans, consisting of chiefs and men of rank, 
fought like tigers. They would neither fly nor surrender ; preferring death 
to submission, some of them leaped from the lofty pinnacle of the temple 
to the earth, and were crushed in the fall. Two noble youths approached 
Cortez, and seizing him, dragged him to the edge of the pinnacle. Then, 
holding fast to his limbs, they leaped over the railing, intending to drag 
him after them. But Cortez was a strong man, and knowing his great 
danger, held fast to the railing, while the two Mexicans, forced to quit 
their hold, swung from the pinnacle, and were dashed in pieces upon 
the earth below. 

Cortez now returned to his quarters, and finding it dangerous for him 
to remain in the city, secretly determined to retreat. In a dark and rainy 



MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS. 429 

night lie set out with his army, hoping to escape unperceived. They were 
crossing the lake, when, being on a narrow part of the causeway, they were 
suddenl}^ attacked by thousands of the Mexicans, who covered the water 
with their boats, A dreadful scene followed : fighting in the thick dark- 
ness they could not distinguish friends from foes. Multitudes of the 
Indians were slain, and, forming a bridge of their bodies, Cortez and a part 
of his army escaped to the shore. But two hundred of the Spanish troops 
were killed, with two thousand of their Tlascalan allies. Some prisoners 
and all the cannon and baggage fell into the hands of the Mexicans. 

The Capital Besieged. 

This dreadful event is still remembered in Mexico, and the night on 
which it occurred is called the " night of desolation." Cortez and his little 
band now retreated to the city of Tlascala, cutting their way, with desper- 
ate bravery, through the thousands of enemies that opposed them. Here 
they remained some time, when, having received a reinforcement of several 
hundred Spanish soldiers, Cortez marched back to Tezcuco, resolved, if pos- 
sible, to take the capital. With immense labor, timber was brought from 
a distance ; several vessels were built and launched on the lake, and 
the siege began. 

We must now tell our readers that Quetlevaca, the brother of Monte- 
zuma, who had been made king at his death, was not now living. He died 
of the small-pox, which the Spaniards brought into the country, and Guati- 
mozin, a young man of high courage, was now king in his stead. He had 
put the city in the best state of defence ; so that, although the Spaniards 
attacked it bravely, they were, day after day, and week after week, repulsed 
by the Mexicans. 

Weary of the protracted siege, Cortez and his troops one day made a 
fierce assault, and, with incredible valor, burst into the city ; cutting down 
those who opposed them, and trampling the dead and dying beneath their 
feet, they rushed on to the centre of the city. But there they were 
opposed with such bravery, that after a while they gave wa}', and were 
driven back. Cortez himself was seized b}^ three Mexicans, who were 
dragging him away, when two of his officers came to his relief These 
were both killed in the struggle which followed, but Cortez escaped. 

At length, night came, and the Spaniards, being unable to retreat 
across the lake, were obliged to stay in the city. In the night, the great 



430 MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS. 

temple was lighted up, and, by the glare, they could see their compauions, 
who had been taken prisoners, sacrificed to the god of war. They could 
see them obliged to dance before the hideous idol, and could hear their 
screams, when the torture was inflicted upon them. 

The next day Cortez left the city, and soon, being reinforced by more 
than one hundred thousand Indians, he made an attack at three points. 
After the most obstinate fighting, and great slaughter, the town was cap- 
tured, and Guatimozin himself, in an attempt to escape, was taken, and 
carried a prisoner to Cortez. He besought the Spaniards to treat his wife 
and children with kindness, but for himself he betrayed neither fear nor 
anxiety. With an air of dignity, he addressed Cortez, and said, " I have 
done what I could to save my country, but my efforts have been unsuc- 
cessful. I have now no desire to live, for my life is worthless to me and 
my people. I pray you to take that weapon by your side, plunge it in 
my breast, and release me from an existence that is now a burden." 

The Whole Country Oonquered, 

At this speech, the wife of Guatimozin burst into an agony of tears, 
and Cortez, who was very much affected by the scene, retired, that the 
unhappy captives might indulge their grief without restraint. 

The Mexicans, now that their king was taken, made no further resist- 
ance. Not only the capital, but the whole country, fell into the hands of 
the conquerors. But the soldiers of Cortez did not find a great deal of 
gold and silver in the city ; and, being greatly disappointed, they became 
very angry. They suspected that Gautimozin had caused his treasures 
to be concealed, and, therefore, required of Cortez, that he and his first 
minister should be tortured, in order to make them tell where they had 
secreted their gold, silver, and precious stones. 

Cortez consented, and Guatimozin and his minister were stretched on 
live coals by the infuriated Spaniards. Unable longer to endure his dread- 
ful agony, the minister uttered a shriek, and turned his eye upon Guati- 
mozin, as if asking permission to disclose the secret desired by the 
Spaniards. To this the king replied, calmly, "Am I on a bed of roses?" 
This rebuke silenced the minister, and he said no more, patiently enduring 
his anguish till he was released by death. Finding that the resolution of 
Guatimozin could not be shaken by torture, the Spaniards ceased from 
their cruel endeavors. 



MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS. 431 

Cortez now sent his officers to various parts of the kingdom, and the 
inhabitants thoroughout the country were soon forced to submit. The 
empire was divided into provinces, and placed under Spanish governors. 
These, being destitute of humanit}^, governed with a degree of cruelty too 
shocking to relate. The blood of the poor Mexicans flowed like water, to 
satisfy the avarice of the invaders. Hundreds of them were burnt alive, 
and wives and children were often compelled to witness the burning of 
their husbands and fathers at the stake. There is not, in the record of 
human actions, a page of history more stained with the foulest of crimes, 
than that which relates to the conduct of Cortez and his generals, after 
the conquest of Mexico. 

Cortez was soon appointed governor of Mexico, which was called by 
the Spaniards New Spain. He began to rebuild the capital, which now 
received the appellation of Mexico. But his enemies sent home to Spain 
unfavorable reports of his conduct. He, therefore, went back to his native 
country, where he was received by the king with great respect. But he 
was deprived of his government, and, from this time, fortune seemed to 
desert him. He went again to America, and made some discoveries on the 
western coast. Finally, he returned to Spain, where, being treated with 
total neglect, he died in obscurity, at the age of sixty-two. 

The Downfall of the Conqueror. 

Such was the fate of Cortez, one of the most extraordinary men the 
world has ever produced. The story of his deeds seem like a romantic 
dream. We cannot fail to admire his talents and perseverance ; but his 
cruelty, injustice, and treachery entitle him to everlasting infamy. 

Mexico, from this time, continued to be a dependency of Spain. The 
government was arbitrary and oppressive. The Indians, of whom there 
were many millions when the country was conquered, rapidly diminished, 
and, in the course of time, became the mere slaves and tools of the Span- 
iards, who settled in the country. 

Thus centuries passed by, till, at length, the oppression of the Spanish 
government became intolerable. In 1808, the people rebelled, and, in 1820, 
after a struggle of twelve years, Spain acknowledged their independence. 
In 1824, a new Constitution was formed, but it was abolished in 1836. 

For many years after this the history of Mexico was a record of 
merely chronic disorder and civil war. Within that period the country 



432 MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS, 

had fifty-two presidents or dictators, another emperor, and a regency; and 
in nearly every case the change of administration was brought about with 
violence, a respectable portion of these great men being ultimately shot 
by some opposing faction. 

In 1836 Texas secured its independence, for which it had struggled 
for several years, and which Mexico was compelled to recognize in 1845. 
In that year Texas was incorporated with the United States ; but its western 
boundary was not settled, which led to the breaking out of war between 
our own country and Mexico. The war was continued with great energy 
by both parties until 1848, when peace was finally concluded after several 
bloody engagements had been fought, and the city of Mexico had been 
stormed and taken by the Americans under General Scott. 

Outcome of the Mexican War. 

In the Mexican campaign General Zachary Taylor became prominent 
on account of his military successes. He was considered an able general, 
a devoted patriot, and, what was of great importance to his political party, 
an available candidate for the presidency. He was nominated for this high 
office and elected, but, as already stated, did not live long to enjoy his honors. 

As a result of this war Mexico was compelled to cede half a million 
square miles to her powerful neighbor. After the fall of President Santa 
Anna in 1855, down to 1867, great confusion prevailed. In 1858 Benito 
Juarez became president, but his claims were contested by General Miria- 
mon, and the country was plunged into civil war. The acts of wanton 
aggression and flagrant injustice perpetrated on foreigners in Mexico 
during this period of internal disorder, by which they were robbed of pay- 
ments which were due them, could not fail to draw upon the Mexican 
government the serious remonstrance of those European powers whose 
subjects had just cause of complaint; and the result was to bring a fleet 
of English, French and Spanish ships into the Mexican Gulf for the pur- 
pose of enforcing satisfaction. 

In 1861 the Spaniards disembarked a force at Vera Cruz, and this 
step was soon followed by the arrival before that city of the allied fleet. 
Preparations to advance at once upon the capital alarmed the provisional 
government, and brought about an armistice, with a view of negotiating 
a treaty for the future regulation of commercial intercourse between 
Mexico and the great European powers. This treaty was drawn up 



MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS. 



433 



and ratified by tlie different commanders, but not confirmed on the part 
of France, and consequently the French troops retained occupation of the 
Mexican territory after the English and Spaniards had declined to join in 
further hostile demonstrations. 




EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN. 

Discovering that France was seeking to use the expedition to destroy 
the independence of Mexico, England and Spain settled their claims with 
the republic by the convention of Solidad, on the 4th of ]\Iarch, 1862, and 
withdrew their forces. 

The French, however, continued the war, and after a hard struggle, 

during which the Mexicans fought gallantly for their countr}', Mexico was 
28 



434 



MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS. 



conquered, and early in June, 1863, the French army entered the capital. 
The Emperor of the French now proceeded to overthrow the republic, it 
being his intention to replace it with an empire which should be dependent 
upon France. An election was held, and, under the intimidation of the 




EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN SHOT BY MEXICAN TROOPS. 

French, resulted in a majority in favor of the abolition of the republic, 
and the erection of the empire. Through the same influence the Mexicans 
chose Maximilian, archduke of Austria, Emperor of Mexico, and in an evil 
hour for himself that amiable and high-souled prince accepted the crown. 



MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS. 435 

The government of the United States had viewed the interference of 
France in Mexican affairs with marked displeasure; but being too much 
engaged in its efforts to bring the civil war to a successful close to under- 
take any new dif&culty, simply entered its protest against the action of 
France. The civil war having been brought to a close, however, it took 
a bolder stand, and demanded of the French Emperor the withdrawal cf 
his troops from Mexico. The action of the government was sustained by 
the great mass of the American people, and it was believed by many that 
foreign war would be a sure and speedy way of bringing about the res- 
toration of the Union. 

The Emperor Napoleon hesitated for a wdiile, but finally acceded to the 
American demand. The French troops were recalled at the close of the 
year 1866, and the Emperor Maximilian was left to face the Mexican people 
alone. They at once rose against him, defeated his forces and took him 
prisoner. On the 19th of June, 1867, he was shot by order of the 
Mexican government, in spite of the efforts of the United States to save 
him. Thus ended the hope of reviving the political dominion of France 
on the American continent. 

On the death of Juarez, in 1872, the chief justice, Lerdo de Tejada, 
assumed the presidency, in which, after a revolution, he was succeeded in 
1876 by Porfirio Diaz, one of the ablest of Mexican rulers. He was 
re-elected in 1884, and repeatedly afterward, having proved his ability to 
administer the affairs of the nation to the satisfaction of the people at 
large. Under him the position of the republic, with regard both to security 
and the development of its resources, has steadily improved. 




CHAPTER XL. 

CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 

)UBA, tlie finest and largest of tlie West India Islands, was 
discovered by Columbus himself, on the 28tli day of October, 
1492, and was named by him Juana, in honor of Prince John, 
the son of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, the sovereigns 
of Aragon and Castile. 

Upon the death of Ferdinand, the Island was called Fernandina. It 
afterwards received the name of Santiago, as a mark of reverence for the 
patron saint of Spain, and still later, the inhabitants, to illustrate their piety, 
gave it that of Ave Maria, in honor of the Holy Virgin. Notwithstanding 
these several titles, the island is still principally known by its original 
Indian name of Cuba; a name which it bore when the great navigator first 
landed on its shores, and which in all probability it is destined to retain. 

Since the beginning of the present century Cuba has been the scene 
of revolutions or uprisings of one kind or another. The direct aim of 
most, if not all, of these has been to free the island from Spanish control. 
The city-armed natives, joined by bands of stragglers and aided by filibus- 
ters, have struggled without organization against drilled, uniformed and 
comparatively well-equipped regular troops representing Spain. 

For a long time insurrection was the term applied to these uprisings. 
At first and, indeed, until recently, it may be doubted if these uprisings had 
the genuine sympathy of the Cubans as a body. And, consequently, they 
were foredoomed to be failures. But the history of these struggles is replete 
with brave deeds and exhibitions of personal courage and strategy that 
would do credit to a body of men familiar with the science of warfare and 
accustomed to facing danger on the battle-field. 

The Spanish colonies, Cuba excepted, gained their independence in 
1820-21. Bolivar was their successful leader, and when he had freed the 
other provinces of Spain he turned his attention particularly to Cuba. But 
for a time his project failed; some revolutionists allege that it was the 
refusal of the United States to countenance such efforts which prevented 

436 



CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 437 

their success. Be that as it may, the efforts of the islanders to throw off 
the Spanish yoke came to nothing material. But Bolivar and his fellow- 
conspirators were determined and sought by every means in their power to 
stir up rebellion in the island. Commissioners were sent to Cuba to create 
sentiment favorable to revolution. They were soon seized by the Spanish 
authorities and executed. Bolivar's plan came to a dismal end. 

Revolution was in the blood of many of the Cubans, however, and not 
many years later it had manifestation. From 1848 to 1854 small and ill- 
planned uprisings took place. Certain elements in the Southern States 
assisted in encouraging these insurrections. 

There was for some time in Southern circles a project looking to the 
annexation of Cuba and its division into four States, each of which, of 
course, would have been entitled to representation in Congress, giving the 
South, perhaps, eight Senators and sixteen Representatives, and so throwing 
the balance of power here into the hands of the slavery advocates. 

Uprising of Patriots Led by Lopez. 

The most important of these movements was that headed by Narciso 
Lopez, who had served in the Spanish army as a general of division, but 
who, on going to Cuba, espoused the cause of the revolutionists. He, with 
Crittenden, the Kentuckian, with a force of some four hundred Americans 
and two hundred Cubans, set out from New Orleans, landing at Cardenas, 
on the north coast of Cuba, and captured it by assault. The victory was a 
hollow one, for the time had been ill-advised and the country did not rise. 

Finding themselves without support and seeing that without aid from 
the Cubans they must be captured or driven into the sea, the invaders 
returned to Key West. The Cubans on that occasion regarded the move- 
ment as one solely in the interest of slavery, and believed its projectors 
inspired by mercenary motives. 

But Ivopez was not to be cast down by one failure. He made a second 
attempt and landed at Bahia Honda. There he encountered a force of 
Spanish troops, under General Henna, and put them to rout. The Span- 
ish commander was killed, and for the time the star of Lopez was in 
the ascendant. 

Still the country did not rise. Lopez, in the western end of the 
island, where Spanish troops were strongest and the revolutionary spirit 
weakest, soon found himself surrounded and overpowered. Crittenden, who 



438 



CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 



was to have joined liim, remained on the coast, and finally attempted to 
escape, by taking to the open sea in boats. He was captured, with fifty 
of his men, and all were put to death in Havana. The execution was 
marked by atrocities, the news of which rang through the civilized world, 
making the flesh creep. 

The forces of Lopez, overpowered by Spanish troops, were dispersed 
with ease. The commander himself was garroted. 




CITY AND HARBOR OF HAVANA. 

The island was quiet for a time then, but not for long. Other 
.-attempts to raise the country, up to 1854, were those of Pinto, a Spaniard 
'of revolutionist tendencies ; Bstrampes and Aguero, the last-named of whom 
freed all his slaves before he raised the rebel standard. He was the first 
out-spoken abolitionist in Cuba. He and the other leaders were captured, 
after a brief struggle, and executed. 

There were some unimportant risings after that, but none of note 
until after the American Civil War. This conflict abolished slavery. Then 
the Southern States had no further object in meddling with Cuba. The 



CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE EOR FREEDOM. 439 

filibustering movements died out. It remained for Cuba to attempt to work 
out its own salvation. 

In 18G8 came the hour which thousands of patriots hailed as the 
dawn of deliverance ; for on October 10th, of that year, Cespedes raised the 
five-barred flag at Yara. He was a lawyer, and logical above all things ; 
so to begin with he freed his two hundred slaves, and they followed him 
to battle to a man. The entire eastern end of the island rose aofainst the 
Spaniards at the call of Cespedes, but the men were without arms or dis- 
cipline. Their spirit was unquestioned, but they were of little utility 
against well-armed and disciplined forces. 

Flocking to the Standard of the Insurgents. 

Their leaders were Maximo Gomez, Marmol and Figueredo. The centre 
of the island, called Camaguey, flocked to the standard of the Marquis de 
Lucia and the Agramontes in November, and as enthusiasm and confidence 
came with numbers the beginning of 1889 saw Las Villas in rebellion with 
14,000 men, among whom there were not more than 100 armed with effec- 
tive firearms. To oppose these iinarmed and undisciplined enthusiasts there 
were 15,000 regulars. 

The western end of the island proved cold, but even there small up- 
risings were fomented. They were put down without difficulty. Aid from 
without was not wanting. In December, 1868, General Quesada landed 
with the first expedition from Nassau, bringing the first consignment of 
arms and munitions of war. The revolutionist cause prospered, and on 
April 10, 1869, a new government was constituted and a House of Assem- 
bly established. Cespedes was President of the provisional government, 
and Quesada commander-in-chief of the forces. 

The government, which had little beyond its name, issued a proclama- 
tion giving freedom to all the negroes in the island — a matter which gave 
great offence to the Spaniards, even those of liberal tendencies. 

Ten years of desultory warfare followed ; the revolutionists held the 
centre of the island and the mountains, but were unable to obtain any 
standing in the seaports, as their flag was not recognized there by the great 
powers, although it was duly saluted from time to time by the South 
American Republics. The United States did not recognize the revolution- 
ists, despite the efforts of General Rawlings and Senator Sherman to that end. 

Every effort was made to send arms to the insurgents. There were 



440 CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 

continual attempts at blockade running. Some of tliese expeditions evaded 
capture, but others were taken by Spanish troops and the leaders were 
promptly executed ; the most notable was that of the " Virginius," under 
Captain Fry. The "Virginius" put out from Kingston, Jamaica. 

The capture of the " Virginius " and the summary execution of Ameri- 
can citizens by the Spanish authorities so excited this nation at the time 
that war with Spain seemed certain. This was one of the most notable 
incidents in Cuban history, at least in point of American interest. 

Had the popular voice been heeded at that time a peaceful solution of 
the difficulty would have been impossible. Feeling ran so high through- 
out the country that public meetings were held all over the country 
denouncing the execution as a butchery, and warlike preparations were 
begun in many cities. In some cases ships were prepared to go to sea in 
anticipation of an immediate declaration of war. 

Story of the Ill-fated " Virginius." 

The voyage of the " Virginius " was begun in November of 1873. 
The steamer was pursued by the Spanish warship " Tornado," and cap- 
tured within sight of the Morant Point Light-house, at the east end of 
Jamaica. She was towed at once into Santiago de Cuba, despite the fact 
that she was flying the Stars and Stripes and was in British waters. 
Fifty-three of her men were shot in a public square in Santiago, in some 
instances after they had been given a trial lasting only ten minutes. 

Among them was Captain Joseph Fry, who commanded the ship ; Bar- 
nade Varona, W. A. C. Ryan, Jesus del Sol and Pedro Cespedes. There 
was no United States cruiser within reach of Santiago, but the British 
man-of-war " Niobe " arrived in time to prevent further slaughter of Ameri- 
can and English subjects. Her commander. Sir Lambon Lorraine, acted 
with quickness and determination. " Shoot another Knglishman or Ameri- 
can," he said, " and the ' Niobe ' will bombard the city." 

Then the slaughter ceased. Both the United States and England 
protested through their representatives, and sent men-of-war to protect the 
other prisoners. The survivors were delivered up to the rescuing ships 
and brought to New York, and the "Virginius," with a hole in her bottom, 
sank off Frying Pan Shoals. 

The return of the survivors, and an accurate knowledge of the details 
of the shooting, only served to fan into fierce blaze the fire of popular 



CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 441 

indignation. The general voice was for war with Spain, and General 
Sickles, then American Minister in Madrid, had already asked to be 
recalled, and was preparing to leave the capital. Finally, however, the 
matter was adjusted diplomatically. The Spanish Government paid an 
indemnity for the American subjects shot with General Ryan and Thomas 
Ryan, and the war cloud blew over. 

But in Cuba the revolutionists continued their fight for supremacy. 
For five years — until 1878 — they strove against terrible odds in the centre 
of the island and in the mountains. At last they saw that the lack of 
arms and supplies, and of money to purchase either, had made the struggle 
a hopeless one, and they decided to make peace. 

Deceptive Promises made by Spain, 

A treaty was signed, by which Spain granted the native Cubans cer- 
tain liberties, promised to reform their administration in some measure, 
and recognized the freedom of all the slaves who had fought in the Cuban 
army. It had been a long and desperate fight. Quesada had been suc- 
ceeded as general-in-chief by General Thomas Jordan, formerly General 
Beauregard's chief of staff, and a West Pointer. He lent much strength 
to the cause, but abandoned it as hopeless after a year's campaigning in 
the face of overwhelming odds, and with a few arms and scant supplies. 

After him came Agramonte, but he died in a 3^ear, and then, when 
the rebel cause seemed to be prospering, General Gomez took command. 
He invaded the western part of the island, and almost reached Matanzas, 
but he, too, saw that he could not gain ground with unarmed men, and 
withdrew his forces. That was in 1876, and from that time the revolution 
waned until the treaty of HI Zanjon in February, 1878. 

Still there was not entire quiet. In the east end of Cuba General 
Maceo refused to recognize the treaty, and continued to fight for eleven 
months, only to fail in the end and be driven from Cuban soil. 

The treaty concessions were by no means liberal enough to maintain 
order for any length of time. In 1889 General Garcia tried again. He 
had been captured in Cuba in 1875, and sent to a fortress in Spain. He 
shot himself while in prison, but the bullet failed, and when he recovered 
he made his escape and reached the United States. 

Here he conferred with Jose Marti, President of the Cuban revolution- 
ary party, 1895-96, and they planned another expedition to Cuba. They 



442 CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 

landed and iield their ground for six months, only to find that the country 
was not ripe for revolt. The Cubans, weary of continual turmoil and 
bloodshed, longed for quiet. At last Garcia was captured and sent once 
more to Spain. 

From this time dates the Autonomist party, started by a group of men 
who maintained that experience would not justify further attempts to gain 
freedom for Cuba by force of arms, and that the island's hope lay in 
peaceful measures alone. The party gained a footing very rapidly ; indeed, 
its existence and doctrine had much to do with the failure of General Garcia. 

The Spirit of Liberty Breaks Forth Again. 

Despite the efforts of the peace party, however, there were revolutionist 
leaders who were ready to try again. In 1884 Generals Gomez and Maceo 
visited the United States and Central America, with a view of preparing 
for another invasion. The movement was bitterly opposed by the Home- 
rule party in Cuba, and was abandoned. Small and ill-advised attempts at 
revolution followed from time to time after that, notably those headed by 
Limbana Sanchez, Benitez and Aguero. 

The Home -rulers, in the meantime, were attempting to get what con- 
cessions they could from Spain by peaceful means. In 1890 they became 
restless again. The peace policy did not prosper. Cuba was growing 
uneasy again. The concessions, small and unsatisfactory at all times, 
began to be regarded as sops, which Spain distributed to maintain peace. 
They gave no promise of more liberal treatment in future. Men began to 
say that the native Cubans were cheated at the polls, and in time their 
representatives went to the Cortes no more. 

For fourteen years the Home-rulers, led by such men as Govin Mon- 
ture, Figueroa, Fernandez, De Castro and Siberga, had made most vigorous 
fights at the poles, and, notwithstanding Conservative frauds, had sent 
their best orators to the Spanish Parliament. It was to no purpose. The 
Home-rulers spoke to empty benches in Spain, and no party there recog- 
nized them. They succeeded, nevertheless, in forcing the Conservatives in 
Cuba to modify their policy, and aided manfully to complete the emanci- 
pation of the negro, following the Cuban Constitution, which declared that 
" all men are free." With the Economic party, they forced the govern- 
ment to celebrate the Spanish- American treaty, without which the fate of 
the island was sealed. 



CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 443 

The Conservatives divided into two groups, one leaning toward union 
with the Cubans on economic questions, and hoping secretly for the 
annexation of Cuba by the United States. They were demoralized by the 
refusals of the Liberals from the polls, the Autonomists having declared 
that unless the obnoxious suffrage laws, which gave the Spaniards a sure 
majority at the polls, and disfranchised the Cuban rural population, were 
abolished, they would never go to Parliament again. 

The Spanish Liberals really formed the Economist party, to obtain 
commercial concession, and secure a treaty with the United States, and by 
joining hands with the Cubans, they forced Spain's hand in the matter. 

But this, like the other efforts to restore quiet and content, proved a 
failure. The Cubans complained that in return for the treat}^, and its 
benefits to the island, Spain imposed new taxes, which more than counter- 
balanced all the good that had been done. Representatives were sent to 
the Spanish Parliament again, the Home-rule contingent demanding, as of 
old, electoral reform sufficient to guarantee just representation. 

Preparations for the Coming Conflict. 

It was then that the Cuban Revolutionary party began to gain prom- 
inence — the party which drew the sword in 1895 — and asserted boldly 
that peaceful measures, looking to freedom and equality, had failed, and 
that Cuba must take up arms again, and drive the Spanish soldiers into 
the sea. Such talk was dangerous on Cuban soil. Leaders of the party, 
who were not already in exile, left Cuba, and began to plan from the out- 
side, to raise money, to stir up the native population by secret agents — in 
a word, to prepare the island for one grand united effort to be free. 

While this sentiment was being nursed at home and outside of Cuba, 
the Peace party was still at work on its own lines. In 1894 the reform 
wing of the Spaniards joined the Cubans in their fight against the Spanish 
Conservatives. They secured some reforms, but these, the Cubans say, are 
a mere farce, as the proposition now being passed upon is the establish- 
ment of a council in Cuba, in which the Spanish element will predominate. 
This council was to consist of thirty members, of which fifteen were to be 
appointed by the crown, and the remainder elected. The method of electing, 
the Cubans contend, would insure a majority for the Spaniards, and, in 
any event the council might be dissolved at pleasure by the Captain- 
General, Callejas. The Cubans want universal suffrage and have been 



444 CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 

unable to secure it, as the Spaniards have insisted upon them having 
certain property qualifications. 

On the 14th of March, 1895, Marti and Gomez, the Cuban exiles, with, 
a handful of companions, landed at Baracoa, on the eastern coast of Cuba, 
and proclaimed the republic. The effect of this bold move was instanta- 
neous. The news spread from end to end of the island, and although the 
friends of Cuba thought the moment ill-timed, hundreds of sympathizers 
flocked to the patriot standard. Like a prairie fire before a brisk breeze^ 
the single spark of insurrection fired the dry tinder of the oppressed Cubans, 
and the rebellion grew in volume as it flew westward. 

This is not Spain's first experience of the temper of her colony. For 
the past seventy years conspiracy, insurrection, rebellion, and red war have 
followed one another in endless progression. A few words will suffice to 
explain the cause leading up to the conflict of 1895-96. 

Early History of Cuba. 

Cuba became a possession of Spain by the right of discovery on Colum- 
bus' second voyage. He named it Juana, after the son of Ferdinand and 
Isabella, and it has successively been known as Juana, Fernandina, Santiago, 
Ave Maria and Cuba, the latter being the native name of the Queen of the 
Antilles. It was colonized by Spain, and its early history is a series of 
sacks and ravages by Kuropean foes. Not until the rule of Captain-General 
Las Casas, beginning 1790, did prosperity begin. 

Under his guidance agriculture and commerce flourished, and the con- 
dition of the native population was ameliorated. The effect of his sagacious 
rule was felt for over thirty years, and when Napoleon deposed the royal 
family of Spain, every member of the Cabildo took oath to preserve the 
island for their monarchy, and, going even further, they declared war against 
the French conqueror. This much to show the instinctive feeling of the 
colony toward the mother country. 

Spanish coffers were empty with the restoration of the Bourbons in the 
person of Ferdinand VII., and Spain's mistress looked with hungry eyes 
upon the rich island with her 1800 miles of seacoast, gemmed with pros- 
perous ports and her plantations of indigo, sugar, tobacco and fruit. It was 
Fortunata's purse wherein Spain might dip her fingers and forever find it 
full to overflowing. With this discovery came oppressive taxation. With 
the gradual impoverishment of Spain came added demands. Then the 



CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 445 

deprivation of all civil, political and religious liberty and the exclusion of 
Cubans from all public stations, and in order to enforce this the Cubans 
were taxed to support a standing army and navy — their gaolers. 

With their oppression came their desire for liberty. In 1829 the Black 
Kagle conspiracy arose. The purpose of this was to throw off the Spanish 
yoke. It was suppressed, but was followed in 1840 by an insurrection of 
the colored population. After smouldering and blazing for awhile the fires 
of insurrection were smothered only to break out eight years later in a 
genuine conspiracy of the Cubans under the leadership of Narciso Lopez. 
This rebellion was quelled and Lopez fled. In 1850 he landed in Cuba 
with 600 men from the United States. He made a third attempt in 1851, 
and together with most of his companions, was captured and executed by 
the Spanish authorities. 

Oppression Resulting from Heavy Taxes. 

The Reformist party, which sprang up at this time, succeeded in getting 
an inquiry of the abuses at Madrid, with the result, however, of increased 
taxation. In 18G8 the Advance party in Cuba rose in the district of 
Bayamo, and on October 10, 1868, signed a declaration of independence at 
Manzanillo. Their first successes were so great that almost all the Spanish- 
American republics recognized the insurgents as belligerents. After a war 
of ten years, that was confined to the mountainous regions east of the town 
of Puerto Principe, the rebellion was put down. To confine it to that 
locality the Spanish troops built a great fortified trench, known as La 
Trocha, across the entire width of the island, in the western portion of the 
State of Puerto Principe. It was here that Captain-General Campos drew 
up his forces last summer to prevent the eastward march of the insurgents, 
who were now heavily reinforced. 

All during the summer of 1895 the insurgent leaders were organizing 
their forces and receiving supplies of arms and ammunition. The people 
were flocking to the standard of revolt, and during October, 1895, Gomez 
and Maceo, with ease, penetrated the lines of the Spanish captain-general, 
crossing La Trocha, and causing the regular troops to fall back to a line 
just east of Romedios ; the insurgents still pushing on, this was followed 
by a retreat of Campos to Santa Clara, in the province of Santa Clara, 
still further west. 

Gomez and Maceo were now in supreme authority, for Marti died just 



446 CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 

as the command started west. This blow to the insurgent cause was more 
than offset by the character of the people among which they found them- 
selves. Of all the provinces of Cuba, Santa Clara is the most outspoken 
and loyal to the cause of liberty ; the ranks of Gomez and Maceo were 
increased by thousands of volunteers of an intelligence and physical 
strength superior even to those of Santiago. Horses were procured in 
abundance, and the bulk of the insurgent army was formed into a speedy 
and well-equipped cavalry ; they were armed with rifles, and carried with 
them an abundance of ammunition. 

Terrible Weapon of the Insurgents. 

Each man also carried a machete, which is a long, heavily-weighted 
iron knife, used by the sugar planters to cut the cane, and by all travelers 
to open up paths through the heavy tropical underbrush ; they are terrible 
weapons in the hands of the Cubans, and the Spanish troops fear them 
more than the rifles. The insurgents took no supply train with them. A 
stray pig or fowl supplied them with supper, while an ox meant dinner 
for a company. Thus prepared they turned their faces toward the setting 
sun and Havana. 

All this while Campos, the Spanish general, was " concentrating," 
according to the official dispatches. In other words he was drawing dead 
lines across the island at points where he announced that he would bring 
the insurgents to a pitched battle. Each successive dead-line was further 
west than the one preceding it. And each time the insurgents slipped by 
the troops, leaving a harried country behind them. Railroads, bridges and 
roads were destroyed ; plantations burned and store-houses empty. The 
troops, under the spur of necessity, followed as rapidly as possible, leaving 
the insurgents in possession of the country to the east. 

In this way not only did the Cubans make this remarkable march 
westward, but they garrisoned it. In Santiago the insurgents kept the 
Spanish forces in the fortified cities, and in a short time two large expedi- 
tions successfully landed at that end of the island. One, armed with can- 
non, fired upon and crippled the " Nueva Espana," of the Spanish navy, 
while such leaders as Rabi, Martinez and Aguirre were fighting as valiantly 
there as Gomez and Maceo in the province of Matanzas. 

Similar reports came from Puerto Principe and Santa Clara, showing 
that the insurgents had complete control of the interior of these provinces. 



CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 447 

But Campos claimed that it was his plan to get the insurgents between his 
forces and Havana and crush them as a nut is crushed in a nut-cracker. 

Then came decisive attacks by the insurgents. Campos was driven 
from pillar to post, changing his headquarters from Santa Clara to Cien- 
fuegos, from Cienfuegos to Palmillas, from Palmillas to Colon, from Colon 
to Jovellanos, from Jovellanos to Limonare, from Limonare to Guanabana^ 
and from Guanabana to Havana, where he was feted as a conqueror by the 
Spanish authorities, and where he received telegrams of congratulation from 
the Queen Regent of Spain and her Prime Minister. 

The Insurgent General Threatens Havana. 

Just prior to this noisy welcome, namely on December 24, 1895, Gen- 
eral Maximo Gomez, at the head of 12,000 men, by a feint, turned the flank 
of the Spanish commander at Colon, and passing the sleepy old seaport of 
Matanzas, marched straight on to a point only fifty miles from Havana, 
Campos with all his 80,000 picked Spanish troops, to the contrary notwith- 
standing. Christmas and New Year's passed and the insurgents were still 
there, marching and countermarching in three columns, holding Spain 
at bay, and waiting for additional supplies of ammunition and arms be- 
fore pushing on. 

The grave question now was what the insurgents would do ? Havana 
was in an agony of suspense and preparing for a siege. The loyalty of 
the citizens was questionable, as well as that of the Grande Civil, or local 
militia. Campos and all his troops seemed unable to cope with the situa- 
tion. It was believed that should the insurgents push on and take Havana 
the defeat of Spain and the liberty of Cuba would arrive. 

The next move on the part of Spain was to recall General Campos, 
his campaign in Cuba having proved a failure. He was replaced by Gen- 
eral Weyler, whose tyrannous policy and barbarous cruelties, when pre- 
viously commanding the Spanish forces in the island, are well known. 

The steamer " Alfonso XIII." arrived at Havana February 10th, 
1896, having on board General Valeriano Weyler, the new Captain- 
General of Cuba; Nicolau, Marquis of Teneriffe; and Generals Bnrique, 
Barges, Ferderico Ochando, Miguel Melquiso, Marinues Ahumada, Luis 
Castelloi, Sanchez Bernal and Juan Arolas, the latter being the hero of 
Jolo, Philippine Islands. 

The entire city was brilliantly decorated in honor of the occasion, 



448 CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 

and the bay was a splendid sight, all the warships and merchant craft 
present being decorated with bunting. The wharves were crowded with 
people at an early hour, and all the steamers and tugs were loaded with 
sightseers. The Chamber of Commerce, the Bourse, all the big commer- 
cial houses and government departments, the Canarian Association, Gen- 
eral Weyler's countrymen and others, crowded upon the chartered steamers 
or about the landing-place. 

The troops and volunteers were turned out to a man, together with 
the fire department and police, and for a long time no such brilliant 
display had been witnessed in Havana. Among the high military officers 
present were Generals Suarez Valdez, Pando, Marin and Navarro, Admiral 
Yanas and staffs Colonel Castanedo, Major Moriano and many others. 

Welcome to the New Captain-General. 

General Weyler was welcomed by the City Council on board the 
" Alfonso XIII." He was presented with an address of welcome and 
assurance of loyalty. At 11 o'clock the Captain-General came ashore and 
was received by General Marin and staff. The streets were packed with 
people, who displayed the greatest enthusiasm. In fact, rarely has a dis- 
tinguished person been received so warmly as was General Weyler when 
he landed. There is no doubt that considerable real enthusiasm was 
manifested, in addition to the greetings which would naturally be bestowed 
upon the representative of Spain. 

The advent of Weyler produced no perceptible change in the situation. 
The insurgents continued to land arms and ammunition secretly, and to 
carry on their peculiar mode of warfare. No great battles were fought, 
and in the majority of the skirmishes the Spanish troops were successful, 
it being apparently the policy of the rebels to worry and harass their 
enemy instead of coming to open conflict. It was the history of Cuban 
insurrection repeated — a work of devastation, a scattered warfare, an attempt 
by Spanish troops to rout or capture the insurgents, yet without success. 
Spain maintained a large army in Cuba which seemed to be incapable of 
bringing order out of confusion. 

The most important events affecting the Cuban cause in 1897 were 
the deaths of the famous Cuban Generals, Jose and Antonio Maceo, both 
of whom were killed in battle. Each was a tower of strength to the cause 
of independence in Cuba, and with their death it was believed in Spanish 



CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 449 

circles that a fatal blow liad been struck to the cause of the independence 
of the island. 

It is not surprising that there was great joy both in Havana and 
Madrid when it was reported that Antonio Maceo had fallen on the field 
of battle. The report was, however received with reserve, as this was the 
sixth time in which he had been reported killed. His ability to rise from 
death appeared to be like that of the fabled Phoenix, which sprang from 
its own ashes, and spread its wings with renewed youth and vigor. Soon 
the question agitated two continents : " Is Maceo really dead ?" It was 
finally admitted that the great leader had come to an untimely death. 

Rejoicing over Macao's Death. 

General Weyler, who was absent from Havana when Maceo's death 
was reported, immediately returned, arriving at half-past five in the after- 
noon. He rode into the city on horseback, accompanied by two squadrons 
of cavalry. His coming had been made known to the public, and large crowds 
gathered to welcome him. He was given a popular ovation from the time 
he reached the city limits until he arrived at the palace. At some places 
along the route, girls strewed flowers in his pathway, and he was in other 
ways treated as a popular hero. 

The peculiar methods of warfare adopted by the Cuban insurgents led 
General Weyler to construct his famous barricade, known as the trocha. It 
has not been the plan of the Cuban army ever to risk a great battle 
against the immense army of Spain, for the reason that they were much fewer 
in number, and, for a long time, were but poorly equipped with arms and 
ammunition. Still, with their cavalry and scattered bands, they were 
able to occupy a large part of the island, and even to threaten the 
city of Havana. 

General Weyler's plan was to construct a trocha, extending from a 
point on the north coast to the southern coast, thus dividing a small part 
of the island from the remainder. The western section, known as the 
Province of Pinar del Rio, could then, it was thought, be pacified, and the 
insurgents driven out. It would be impossible for them to pass the trocha, 
and they could be pursued and captured. The reader will be interested in 
a description of this formidable barricade. 

The trocha is a cleared space, 150 to 200 yards wide, which stretches 

through what is apparently an impassable jungle for fifty miles. The 
29 



450 



CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 



trees, wliicli liave been cut down in clearing this passage-way, have been 
piled np at each side of the cleared space, and laid in parallel rows, form- 
ing a barrier of tree trunks and roots and branches higher than a man's 
head. It would take a man some time to pick his way over these barriers, 
and a horse could no more do it than it could cross a jam of floating logs 
in a river. The object was to make the obstacles insurmountable to the 




GENERAL WEYLER S TROCHA ACROSS THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

insurgent cavalry, and to armed bodies of infantry, presenting an effectual 
check upon the transportation of artillery, and in fact upon all their 
offensive movements. 

Between the fallen trees lies the single track of the military railroad, 
and on one side of that are the line of forts, and a few feet beyond them 
a maze of barbed wire. Beyond the barbed wire again is the other barrier 
of fallen trees, and the jungle. In its unfinished state, this is not an 
insurmountable barricade. Gomez crossed it by daylight with 600 men, 
and with but the loss of twenty-seven killed, and as many wounded. 
Where it has been completed, it is almost impossible to cross it, except at 
the sacrifice of a great loss of life. 



CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 451 

The forts are of three kinds. They are best described as the forts, the 
block-houses and the little forts. A big fort consists of two stories, with a 
cellar below, and a watch-tower above. It is made of stone and adobe, and 
it is painted a glaring white. One of these is placed at intervals of every 
half mile along the trocha, and on a clear day the sentry in the watch- 
tower of each can see the three forts on either side. 

Midway between the big forts, at a distance of a quarter of a mile 
from each, is a block-house of two stories, with the upper story of wood, 
overhanging the lower foundation of mud. These are placed at right angles 
to the railroad, instead of facing it, as do the forts. 

Between each block-house and each fort are three little forts of mud 
and planks, surrounded by a ditch. They look something like a farmer's 
ice-house, as we see them at home, and they are about as hot inside as the 
other is cold. They hold five men, and are within hailing distance of one 
another. Back of them are three rows of stout wooden stakes, with barbed 
wire stretching from one row to the other, interlacing and crossing and 
running in and out above and below, like an intricate cats' cradle of wire. 

Barbed Fences and Strong Forts. 

One can judge how closely knit it is by the fact that to every tv/elve 
yards of posts there are four hundred and fifty yards of barbed fencing. 
The forts are most completely equipped in their way, and twelve men in 
the jungle would find it quite easy to keep twelve men securely imprisoned 
in one of them for an indefinite length of time. 

The walls are about twelve feet high with a cellar below and a vault 
above the cellar. The roof of the vault forms a platform, around which the 
four walls rise to the height of a man's shoulder. There are loopholes for 
rifles in the sides of the vault and where the platform joins the walls. 
These latter allow the men in the fort to fire down almost directly upon the 
head of any one who might rush up close to the wall of the fort, and where, 
without these holes in the floor, it would be impossible to fire on him except 
by leaning far over the rampart. 

Above the platform is an iron or zinc roof, supported by iron pillars, 
and in the centre of this is the watch-tower. The only approach to the 
fort is by a movable ladder, which hangs over the side like the gangway of 
a ship of war, and which can be raised by those on the inside by means 
of a rope suspended over a wheel in the roof The opening in the wall at 



452 CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE EOR FREEDOM. 

the head of the ladder is closed at the time of an attack by an iron plat- 
form, to which the ladder leads, and which also can be raised by a pulley. 
The Spanish hope to have calcium lights in the watch-towers of the forts 
with suf&cient power to throw a search-light over a quarter of a mile, or 
to the next block-house, and so light the trocha by night as well as day. 
With their immense army it would not be difficult to do this. 

A Formidable Barrier. 

As a further protection against the insurgents the Spaniards have 
distributed a number of bombs along the trocha. These are placed at 
those points in the trocha where the jungle is less thickly grown, and 
where the insurgents might be expected to pass. Each bomb is fitted 
with an explosive cap, and five or six wires are attached to this and 
staked down on the ground. Any one stumbling over one of these wires 
explodes the bomb, and throws a charge of broken iron to a distance of 
fifty feet. This, in brief, was General Weyler's scheme for preventing the 
insurgents roaming at will from one end of the Island to the other; but 
to make the plan effective he would have to construct several trochas, 
which would be an almost impossible task. The length of time required 
for constructing the trocha, and the necessity of watching it at every 
point, has led military officers to doubt whether the barricade does not 
cost more than it is worth. 

Much excitement was caused throughout the United States by Weyler's 
imprisonment of American citizens, alleging that they were giving aid and 
encouragement to the Cuban forces. One of the prisoners, whose case 
excited universal interest, was Dr. Ricardo Ruiz, who, it was reported, had 
been murdered in a dungeon at Guanabacoa. He was for five years a 
resident of Philadelphia, having come from Cuba in 1875, at the time 
■when the former war was rendering the Island a place almost uninhabita- 
hle, bringing with him letters of introduction from well-known parties in 
Cuba. After having practiced his profession of dentistry for two years in 
Philadelphia he returned to Cuba, but previous to this, after five years' 
residence in the United States, he secured naturalization papers and became 
an American citizen. He settled in Guanabacoa, and married a lady to 
whom he had been engaged before leaving the Island. All accounts go to 
show that he was a man of peaceable disposition. 

He was arrested and confined in prison on suspicion of sympathizing 



CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 453 

with the insurgents, where he remained two years, when his death was 
reported. It was claimed by his friends that he had died from violence, 
and that his imprisonment was illegal, as he had never had an impartial 
trial. These reports created indignation in the United States, which the 
Spanish authorities endeavored to allay by af&rming that an examination 
after death showed that Dr. Ruiz died from natural causes. 

Early in May, 1897, President McKinley sent Hon. W. J. Calhoun, of 
Illinois, as a special commissioner to Cuba, who was charged primarily 
with helping Consul-General Lee to investigate the circumstances surround- 
ing the death of Dr. Albert Ruiz in a Spanish prison. The Spanish gov- 
ernment was represented by Dr. Congosto, Spanish Consul at Philadelphia. 

Seeking the Cause of Death. 

Ruiz died, according to the surgeons, from congestion of the brain^ 
caused by a blow or blows. When General Lee and Mr. Calhoun visited 
the jail in Guanabacoa, they were shown the cell in which the Spanish 
say that Ruiz died. The guard explained to General Lee and Mr. Cal- 
houn that he heard thumping on the inside of the door, and when he 
opened it and went in, Ruiz was running at the heavy door, and butting 
it wath his head. Ruiz had only one wound on the top of his head. Had 
he butted this door, as the jailor says he did, his scalp must necessarily have 
been lacerated in several places. 

The American representatives decided that the}^ would not ask a single 
question of the guards if they are called, feeling it absurd to waste time 
on them under the circumstances. Dr. Congosto was told plainly that the 
testimou}^ of these men would not be received in any court in the United 
States, unless they were prisoners, and chose to speak in their own defence. 
The Americans asked for the of&cial record of the arrest of Ruiz, and the 
charges made against him. Dr. Congosto said that the record was in 
Madrid. It was not furnished. The Spanish and American officials came 
to no agreement concerning the cause of death. 

Almost immediately came a report that another American citizen had 
been sentenced to imprisonment for life, and that, too, in direct violation 
of our treaty with Spain, which has been in operation for a hundred years, 
and, therefore, has all the sanction of time-honored precedent. This treaty 
specifies the tribunal before which a person charged with treason shall be 
tried, and it was maintained that the provisions of the compact had been 



454 CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 

unjustly set aside through the operation of martial law, by which General 
Weyler was attempting to govern Cuba. 

The Committee on Foreign Relations in the United States Senate 
passed a resolution demanding the immediate release of Julio Sanguilly, 
who had been sentenced to life imprisonment. Hot words were uttered on 
the floor of the Senate, and much bitter feeling was engendered in the 
debate, which followed the introduction of the resolution. Notwithstanding 
the request from the State Department to suspend action in the case for a 
few days, the Senators took the question in their own hands, and proceeded 
to act. A multitude of eager listeners were present. 

Animated Debate in the United States Senate. 

Senator Daniel, of Virginia, took the floor in behalf of the adoption of 
the resolution. He said : '' Two years ago yesterday Julio Sanguilly, an 
American citizen, was thrown into prison. Two years have gone by, and 
this government has done practically nothing for this citizen. Great Britain 
would have released him as soon as one of her battleships could reach 
Havana. He has been brutally treated and condemned on unsworn testi- 
mony before military tribunals ; this country and all civilization having 
been disgraced by the treatment meted out to this unfortunate man. Kvery 
citizen of this country would have patriotically applauded the President if 
he had sent a fleet of American battleships and compelled the release of 
this American citizen, whose country has been insulted by the treatment 
accorded to him and to our representative in Cuba." 

Senator Gray, of Delaware, said he was informed that Sanguilly's coun- 
sel had withdrawn his appeal to Madrid in order to facilitate his release. 
Thereupon, with increased force and manifestly increased anger, Senator 
Daniel said : "If that is true it is a humiliation to the United States that 
one of her citizens has been compelled by sickness and poverty, and delay 
on the part of this government, to withdraw his appeal for justice in order 
to secure his release from prison. It means that he has concluded that the 
United States has abandoned her citizen, her legal child, and that he des- 
pairs of justice. His appeal should not be withdrawn. The people of this 
country should compel his unconditional release." 

It was at this point that Senator Frye, of Maine, electrified the Senate 
by saying : " If Sanguilly's counsel has withdrawn the appeal of his client, 
he has done an unjust act which is inexcusable. For, by that withdrawal, 



CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 455 

he leaves Sanguilly a convicted criminal, liable to imprisonment for life, 
and surrenders for Sanguilly and for his family all claims for damages 
against Spain. He surrenders all that Spain has contended for. Here we 
are contending that Sanguilly has been unjustly treated, and that all inter- 
national law has been violated in his case when his discouraged counsel 
withdraws his appeal for justice. If I had my way a ship of war would 
start immediately to Havana and deliver him." 

The outbreak in the galleries was such as has not been paralleled in 
years. They were filled with Daughters of the American Revolution, and 
they would not be quieted. Messengers and doorkeepers warned them, and 
finally had to force some of them into their seats that order might be 
restored. Their strong sympathy for Cuba was much in evidence. 

Order for the Prisoner's Release. 

Later in the day it was announced that the government at Madrid, 
concluding that discretion was sometimes better than valor, had ordered 
General Weyler to release Sanguilly. This had a tendency to somewhat 
allay the excitement, yet a very uneasy feeling and excited state of the 
public mind was apparent, which a breath might inflame into a wild 
burst of indignation. 

General Sanguilly soon arrived at Key West. He was made a cripple 
by the former war, and he now appeared to be in an enfeebled condition. 
Before he descended the gang-plank he was lifted up on the shoulders of 
friends and conveyed to a carriage. In repl}^ to a request for a speech, he 
said he was too fatigued after a rough sea voyage, but thanked his country- 
men for the hearty welcome accorded, which he did not take for himself, 
but, he said, as an evidence of the loyalty to the cause dear to the heart 
of every Cuban. 

On March 1st the President transmitted to Congress important dispatches 
from Consul-General Lee, including telegrams relating to the case of Charles 
Scott. These awakened unusual interest in the Senate. On February 20th 
Mr. Lee telegraphed as follows to the State Department: "Charles Scott, a 
citizen of the United States, arrested at Regla. No charge given. He has 
been without communication in jail at Havana 264 hours. I cannot stand 
another Ruiz murder, and have demanded his release. How many war 
vessels at Key West or within reach, and will they be ordered here at 
once if necessary to sustain demand ? " 



456 CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 

On the 23d General Lee said in a cable message: "Situation simple. 
Experience at Guanabacoa made it my duty to demand, before too late, 
that another American who has been incommunicado (without communica- 
tion with friends) 2G4 hours, be released from said incommunicado, and did 
so in courteous terms. If you support it and Scott is so released, the 
trouble will terminate. If you do not I must depart. All others arrested 
with Scott have been put in communication. Why should the only Ameri- 
can in the lot not be ? He has been incommunicado now 338 hours." 

Later on the same day, the 23d of February, Mr. Lee wired: "Demand 
complied with. Scott released from incommunicado to-day, on demand, after 
fourteen days' solitary confinement in cell five feet by eleven, damp, water 
on bottom of cell. Not allowed anything to sleep on or chair. Was 
charged with having Cuban postage stamps in the house. Scott says he 
went always twelve hours without water ; once two days. He was an 
employee of the American Gas Company." 

General Lee's determination to see that every American citizen in 
Cuba should have his rights fully protected, met with a hearty response 
from all classes of the American people. 

The Cuban General Rivera. 

The veteran, who succeeded General Antonio Maceo in the command 
of the Cuban forces in the province of Pinar del Rio, was General Ruiz 
Rivera, and was born in Puerto Rico in 1847. General Rivera was the son 
of a wealthy Spanish family; his father was a Spanish colonel. Young 
Rivera was sent to Spain to be educated as a lawyer. When the revolu- 
tion of 18G8 broke out he was studying law in Barcelona; he gave up his 
college career and sailed for Cuba. 

Rivera fought valiantly ; he displayed at the head of his troops remark- 
able ability. When the ten years were ended, in 1878, he stood out with 
Maceo in his refusal to accept the terms of the treaty. He left the island 
without surrendering, and before going he handed his machete to Colonel 
Figueredo, his faithful friend, with this injunction: "This is my true 
weapon. If I ever return to Cuba to fight for her freedom, you shall return 
it to me. If you ever fight with it, and are forced to surrender or leave 
the fields of Cuba, break it in twain and bury it. Let it never fall into 
the hands of the enemy." 

Rivera saw the war renewed sixteen years after ; as soon as he was 



CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 457 

called to his post lie left Honduras, where he was prosperous in business ; 
he took an expedition to Maceo, which materially strengthened the patriots 
in the west. His long experience and his splendid qualifications made him 
conspicuous. He was a man of great personal magnetism, and a natural 
successor to his life-long companion, General Antonio Maceo. 

It was the fate of General Rivera soon to be captured, the story of 
which is dramatic. General Hernandez Velasco left San Cristobal under 
secret orders at noon March 18th, with the Castillo Reina battalion and two 
field pieces and pitched his camp amid the Brujito Hills. The insurgents 
attacked the regulars from the very outset of the advance. The Spanish 
column marched upon Perico Pozo, where General Ruiz Rivera awaited 
them in a strongly entrenched position. The result of the engagement that 
ensued was the defeat of the insurgents and the capture of General Rivera. 

Rivera opened fire immediately on seeing the head of the column. 
Colonel Jose Roco advanced with the extreme vanguard. Major Sanchez 
Bernal leading another division under the protection of artillery, which 
shelled the trenches held by Rivera, who was already wounded in the thigh. 

Capture of the Insurgent Leader. 

One company of the cavalry galloped forward, capturing the trenches 
and seizing as prisoners five men who lay severely mutilated by the shells. 
Colonel Bacallao, on learning that Rivera had been wounded, hurried to 
the trenches, and begged the soldiers not to kill him. Rivera and Colonel 
Bacallao were taken into the presence of General Velasco, who shook hands 
with Rivera and introduced him to the officers of his staff, giving instruc- 
tions that the first thing to be done was to give him surgical relief. 
Lieutenant Terry and Colonel Bacallao were also wounded in a fight at 
the same place on March 15th. 

The Castillo battalion secured important documents as well as the 
arms arid money of General Ruiz Rivera. The money consisted mostly of 
American gold coin. A number of splendid watches were left with General 
Velasco. The villagers of San Cristobal, who went out to receive the small 
column of Spanish troops, enthusiastically cheered the victors. 

General Rivera, who remained quietly in prison, eulogized the escort 
of Spanish soldiers. He said the troops treated him with the greatest 
consideration. He also said the families of the insurgents in the camp of 
the Cubans were in a critical situation. They suffered greatly from 



458 CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 

hunger, and were compelled to go out in search of vegetables whenever 
it was possible to avoid the Spanish troops. The insurgents were well 
supplied with meat, but had no spices. 

General Rivera would say nothing concerning the war or Cuban politi- 
cal matters. When asked his name by General Velasco, Rivera replied, 
and made the following request: "Give me the honors of war, and stretch 
out to me your hand." Rivera afterwards conversed with some of the chief 
officers, and offered them tips for services rendered. Velasco, noticing this, 
said: "Soldiers need not money, but honor, which they have." 

One of the shells exploded in the insurgent camp, wounding many 
members of Rivera's staff. Rivera himself received a Mauser ball, which 
caused three serious wounds in the thigh. The moment the Spanish 
infantry entered the trenches Colonel Bacallao raised General Rivera on 
his shoulders as if to carry him off. After his capture General Rivera, 
speaking of the Spanish soldiers, said: "They have treated me very care- 
fully." He complained much of the pain of his wounds. 

Congratulations from the Queen of Spain. 

Captain-General Weyler received the news of Rivera's capture at Cien- 
fuegos, where the intelligence was loudly cheered. The Captain-General 
was described as "satisfied" with the result, and received cablegrams of 
congratulations from the Spanish Minister of War and the Spanish Premier, 
who congratulated him in the name of the Queen of Spain. Lieutenant 
Henry Terry died from his wounds. He was a naturalized American. 

The long-standing case of Cuba again came to the front in the United 
States on May 17th. President McKinley gave the first indication of his 
policy by a special message asking Congress to appropriate $50,000 for the 
relief of suffering Americans in Cuba. The President's message read thus: 

" Ofl&cial information from our Consuls in Cuba establishes the fact that 
a large number of American citizens in the island are in a state of desti- 
tution, suffering for want of food and medicines. This applies particularly 
to the rural districts of the central and eastern parts. 

"The agricultural classes have been forced from their farms into the 
nearest towns, where they are without work or money. The local authori- 
ties of the several towns, however kindly disposed, are unable to relieve 
the needs of their own people, and are altogether powerless to help our 
citizens. The latest report of Consul-General Lee estimates that 600 to 



CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 459 

800 are without meaus of support. I have assured him that provision 
would be made at once to relieve them. To that end I recommend that 
Congress make an appropriation of not less than $50,000, to be immediately 
available for use under the direction of the Secretary of State. 

" It is desirable that a part of the sum which may be appropriated by 
Congress should, in the discretion of the Secretary of State, also be used 
for the transportation of American citizens who, desiring to return to the 
United States, are without means to do so.'' 

Two phases of the subject were presented. First came the question 
of relief to destitute and starving Americans in Cuba. This was presented 
in the President's message as soon as the session opened. Immediately 
following the reading of the message, Mr. Davis, Chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Foreign Relations, presented a favorable report on the joint 
resolution originally introduced by Mr. Gallinger, appropriating $50,000 for 
the relief of American citizens in Cuba. There was only one brief speech — 
from Mr. Gallinger — and then the resolution went through by unanimous 
vote, there being no response to the call for nays. It took exactly 
eighteen minutes for the reading of the message, the presentation of the 
committee report, the brief speech and the final passage of the resolution. 

Spirited Speeches on the Cuban Question. 

The second phase of the Cuban subject came up in the Senate when 
the Morgan resolution, declaring that a state of war exists in Cuba, was 
taken up. Mr. Wellington, the new Senator from Maryland, came forward 
for his initial speech in the Senate, making a vigorous protest against the 
resolution, on the ground that it threatened war with Spain. He said the 
first duty of Congress was to pass the tariff bill. The senator condemned 
"jingoism," and gave his endorsement to President Cleveland's conservatism 
on the Cuban question. 

Senator Daniel, of Virginia, said the Senator from Maryland (Wel- 
lington) had " taken a shot at creation " while presumably discussing the 
pending resolution. He had gone into the tariff, currency, the late and 
the present administrations in their various ramifications. Mr. Daniel 
asserted that the Maryland Senator entirely misapprehended the resolution 
in declaring that it involved hostility to Spain. In sarcastic tones ]\Ir. 
Daniel referred to Mr. Wellington's statement, that some debt of gratitude 
existed, because Spain had produced Christopher Columbus. " It were 



460 CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 

better had there been no Columbus," said Mr. Daniel, " if America was to 
continue a savagery that prevailed here before the country was discovered," 
The Senator then took up the legal questions involved in the recognition 
of belligerency. 

After concluding his legal argument on the powers of Congress and 
the President, Mr. Daniel branched to the general subject of Cuba, and 
again aroused the keenest attention by his vigorous words. The diplomacy 
of Spain had succeeded for two and one-half years, he said, in blinding 
American diplomacy in the belief that war did not exist in Cuba. But 
the world knew that war existed there, high-handed, red-handed, bloody, 
cruel war. It is a war in which Spain employs more troops than England 
employed in seeking to put down the American Revolution. 

No Act of Hostility to'ward Spain. 

And yet. Senators were met with the statement that a recognition of 
a state of war in Cuba would be inimical to Spain. He denied that the 
recognition of an existing fact could be construed as a hostile act, but, in 
any event, the fact should be recognized, and the great influence of the 
United States thrown toward the cause of civilized and Christian usage. 
It might subject some American vessels to search, but this would be a 
small matter compared with the results achieved. It might give Spain a 
right to blockade Cuba, but in that Spain would suffer more than 
the United States. 

" It is said this means war," continued Mr. Daniel. " I deny it. If 
Spain should declare war against us, because we recognized the belliger- 
ency of her former subjects, who had carried on a war for two and one-half 
3^ears, she would have an unjust cause of complaint and war against us, 
and we will have a just cause of complaint and war against her. I do 
not wish to see the American people involved in war. I look upon war 
as one of the greatest calamities that can befall a people. But it is a 
greater calamity for the high public spirit of a great nation to be so 
deadened that it can look upon murder and arson and pillage with indif- 
ference, and for the public spirit of that nation to be so dead as to delay 
one instant in doing an act of justice because of fear of war." 

During the debate, Senator Mason, of Illinois, made a bold, patriotic 
and eloquent speech, denouncing Spanish atrocities in Cuba. The inhuman 
barbarities inflicted upon innocent people, the savage attacks made upon 



CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 461 

them, and their expulsion from their own homes, condemned to suffering 
and starvation, were depicted in burning language. Among other things, 
he said : " Here is the proof in the communication of the President, stating 
that 800 citizens of the United States have been driven from their homes, 
and are destitute. Who forced them there ? Was it the insurgents ? 
Then, there is war in Cuba. Was it the Spaniards ? Then, if there is no 
war, there ought to be, and with us. Eight hundred Americans driven 
from home starving, and still some Senators say it is not much of a war." 

Excitement in the Senate Chamber. 

Again and again the galleries broke into loud applause, as the sturdy- 
Senator expressed in eloquent terms the feeling of the American people. 
The excitement was at white heat ; handkerchiefs waved ; cheers burst 
forth that could not be repressed. 

Senator Foraker, of Ohio, produced an unpublished letter of Secretary 
Olney, addressed to the Spanish Government in April, 1896, in which the 
President offered to Spain the mediation of the United States to bring the 
war to a close, which was firmly refused by the Spanish Government, who 
stated, through their minister at Washington, that there was no effectual 
way to pacify the Cubans, except upon the condition that they should first 
submit to the mother country. 

Mr. Foraker's speech was delivered with much warmth and earnestness. 
Several of his well-rounded periods, in which sympathy was expressed with 
the struggling Cubans, and in which the cruelties and barbarities of the 
Spanish military forces were denounced, called forth demonstrations 
from the galleries. 

The Morgan resolution declared : " That a condition of public war 
exists between the Government of Spain and the Government proclaimed, and 
for some time maintained by force of arms, by the people of Cuba, and 
that the United States of America shall maintain a strict neutrality between 
the contending parties, according to each all the rights of belligerents in 
the ports and territory of the United States." 

The resolution received in its favor the votes of 18 Republicans, 19 
Democrats, and 4 Populists ; 12 Republicans and 2 Democrats voted against 
it — a total vote of 41 to 14. 

Meanwhile the struggle in Cuba went on with varjdng success. The 
efforts of the Spanish army of 200,000 men were unequal to the subjuga- 



462 CUBA AND HER STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. 

tion of the insurgents. On July 28, 1897, Havana's outposts were again 
attacked by a large body of insurgents, who, before the Spanish troops 
could be gathered to resist, had swept through the suburbs, carrying all 
before them. They used rapid-firing guns and a large quantity of dyna- 
mite. There was an inclination among the Spanish officials in Havana to 
deny the fact that Cubans had invaded the forts and swept into Havana 
limits, yet the path left by the insurgents through the suburbs southeast 
of the city could be plainly traced. 

At the first sounds of firing the Spanish soldiers in the city and 
suburbs sprang to arms. They proceeded hurriedly to the southeastern 
part of the city, from where the rattle of musketry, followed by the boom 
of heavy guns or dynamite, could be heard plainly all over Havana. Then 
the sound of firing increased, and finally, after a few hours, died away, 
showing that the insurgents had retired. 

Several wounded Spanish soldiers were brought into Havana and 
removed to hospitals after the engagement, and it was reported that several 
were killed. The reticence of Spanish officials prevented any knowledge of 
the result of the attack becoming general. It is a fact, however, that great 
damage was done by the insurgents on their bold raid, and that a con- 
siderable quantity of dynamite was used. 

There was great excitement in Havana during the attack. Hundreds, 
aroused by the heavy firing, poured into the streets, and the word passed 
along, " The rebels have attacked the city I" created almost a panic in some 
quarters. This attack on Havana was not unexpected. For weeks past the 
rebels had been within sight of the capital, and had practically moved 
without interference. Captain-General Weyler left Havana for Matanzas, 
and the belief was expressed that the knowledge by the insurgents of this 
intention on his part led to the attack. 




CHAPTER XLI. 

STORY OF HAWAII 

jHH Hawaiian Islands, the most important group in the North 
Pacific, were discovered early by the Spaniards, according to 
tradition, and were rediscovered by Captain Cook in 1778. He 
was received by the natives with many demonstrations of aston- 
ishment and delight ; and offerings and prayers were presented 
to him by their priest in one of the temples ; and though in the following 
year he was killed by a native when he landed at Hawaii, his bones were 
preserved by the priest and continued to receive offerings and homage from 
the people until the abolition of idolatry. 

At the time of Cook's visit each island had its chief. On the death 
of the chief who ruled Hawaii at that time there succeeded one named 
Kamehameha, who appears to have been a man of quick perception and 
great force of character. When Vancouver visited the island in 1792, this 
chief being desirous of possessing a vessel on the European model, the 
keel of one was laid down for him. Ten or twelve years later Mr. Turn- 
bull found him with twenty vessels of from twenty-five to fifty tons, which 
traded amongst the islands, and he afterward purchased others from for- 
eigners. Having encouraged a warlike spirit in his people and introduced 
firearms, Kamehameha attacked and overcame the chiefs of the other 
islands one after another, until he finally became the undisputed master 
of the whole group. 

He encouraged trade with foreigners, and derived from its profits a 
large increase of revenue as well as the means of consolidating his power. 
He died in 1819 and was succeeded by his son, a mild and well-disposed 
prince, but destitute of his father's energy. One of the first acts of Kame- 
hameha II. was to abolish idolatry throughout the islands. Some disturb- 
ances were caused thereby, but the insurgents were defeated and the peace 
of the islands continued for a long time. 

In 1820 missionaries arrived from America and commenced their labors 

at Honolulu. A short time afterwards the British Government presented a 

463 



464 STORY OF HAWAII. 

small schooner to the king, and this afforded an opportunity for the Rev. 
William Kllis, the well-known English missionary, to visit Honolulu, along 
with a number of Christian natives from the Society Islands. Finding the 
language of the two groups nearly the same, Mr. Ellis, who had spent 
several years in the southern islands, was able to assist the American mis- 
sionaries in reducing the Hawaiian language to a written form. In 1824 
the king and queen of these islands paid a visit to England and both 
died there of measles. 

For many j^ears the Hawaiian s have continued to advance steadily in 
intelligence, resources and civilization, but their progress has been at times 
interrupted by the conduct of the officers of foreign powers. On one occa- 
sion a British officer went so far as to take possession of Oahu and estab- 
lish a commission for its government ; and French officers abrogated the 
laws, dictated treaties, and by force of arms established the Roman Catholic 
religion in the country. The act of the British officer was disavowed by 
his superiors as soon as known ; and these outrages led to a representa- 
tion on the part of the native sovereign to the governments of Great Britain, 
France and the United States of America, and the independence of the 
islands was guaranteed by these powers in 1844. Kalakaua became the 
reigning monarch and was elected king by ballot in 1874. 

A New Ruler of Hawaii. 

King Kalakaua died in San Francisco, January 20, 1891. His visit to 
this country was on account of his health. He was a great traveler. He 
came to this country in 1876, and visited most of the principal cities. It 
was his travels and extravagance which caused the financial troubles 
that led to a change in the form of government. Princess Liliuokalani 
succeeded her brother and became Queen of the Hawaiians. She proved 
herself to be an erratic and self-willed ruler, and was constantly at variance 
with her legislators and advisors. 

Early in February, 1893, the question of the annexation of Hawaii was 
brought to the attention of Congress, accompanied with news of a revolution 
in the islands. On January 15th the Queen tried to get the Cabinet to 
sign a new constitution that disfranchised all foreigners and put the whole 
government in the hands of the native politicians. The ministers refused, 
and when threatened by the Queen, fled for their lives. They returned 
later and induced the Queen to postpone her stratagem. There was a 



STORY OF HAWAII. 465 

public meeting in front of the palace. The Queen announced the failure 
of her plans, and a native orator demanded the liv^es of the ministers. 

Early in the evening citizens met and formed a committee of public 
safety. On January IGth the United States steamship "Boston" landed 
three hundred men fully armed. They marched to the ofi&ce of the Consul 
General of the United States. The marines were sent to the American 
Legation, while the sailors, with two Gatling guns, camped for a time on 
private grounds. The committee of public safety rapidly completed its 
organization, and made arrangements for the proclamation of a provisional 
government and its protection by armed force. 

Proposed Treaty of Annexation. 

Commissioners soon arrived in Washington to conduct negotiations 
with our government with a view of forming a protectorate of the islands 
or annexing them them to the United States. A treaty of annexation was 
concluded between Secretary of State Foster, and the commissioners, and on 
January 21st was transmitted to the United States Senate. No action with 
a view to annexation was taken by Congress. The treaty was withdrawn 
by President Cleveland when he came into his second term of office, but 
was again sent to the Senate by President McKinley soon after his inaugu- 
ration, on March 4, 1897, 

The physical aspects of the islands are rugged, uneven, and in many 
places barren and rocky. Many craters of extinct volcanoes are found in 
several of the group. 

The form of the volcano named Mauna Loa, in the island of Hawaii, 
is a flattened dome, and this is its most remarkable feature. The idea of 
a volcano is so generally connected with the figure of a cone, that the 
mind at once conceives of a lofty sugar loaf ejecting fire, red-hot stones, 
and flowing lavas. But in place of slender walls around a deep crater, 
which the shaking of an eruption may tumble in, the summit of the 
Hawaiian volcano is nearly a plane, in which the crater, though six miles 
in circuit, is like a small quarry hole, the ancient orifice being not less 
than twenty-four miles in circumference. 

A violent eruption of Mauna Loa took place in the 3^ear 1843, which 

is thus described by the Rev. Titus Coan : "On the lOtli of January, just 

at the dawn of day, we discovered a rapid disgorgement of liquid fire from 

near the summit of Mauna Loa, at an elevation of about fourteen thousand 
30 



46G 



STORY OF HAWAII. 



feet above the sea. This eruption increased from day to day for several 
weeks, pouring out vast floods of fiery lava, which spread down the side of 
the mountain, and flowed in broad rivers, throwing a terrific glare upon the 
heavens, and filling these lofty mountainous regions with a sheen of light. 
This spectacle continued till the molten flood had progressed twenty or 
thirty miles down the side of the mountain, with an average breadth of 




TERRIBLE ERUPTION OF THE HAWAIIAN VOLCANO MAUNA LOA. 

one and a half miles, and across a high plain which stretches between the 
bases of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. 

"After many weeks another missionary and myself penetrated through 
a deep forest, stretching between Hilo and the mountain, and reached the 
molten stream, which we followed to the top of the mountain, and found its 
source in a vast crater, amidst eternal snow, Down the sides of the moun- 
tain the lava had now ceased to flow upon the surface ; but it had formed 
for itself a subterranean duct, at the depth of fifty or one hundred feet. 
This duct was vitrified, and down this fearful channel a river of fire was 
rushing at the rate of fifteen or twenty miles an hour, from the summit to 



STORY OF HAWAII. 467 

the foot of the mountain. This subterranean stream we saw distinctly- 
through several large apertures in the side of the mountain, while the 
burning flood rushed fearfully beneath our feet. 

" Our visit was attended with peril and inconceivable fatigue, but we 
never regretted having made it, and we returned deeply affected with the 
majesty, the sublimity, the power, and the love of that God who ' looketh 
on the earth and it trembleth, who toucheth the hills and they smoke ; 
whose presence melteth the hills, and whose look causeth the mountains 
to flow down.' " What an impressive sight this must have been ! 

A Volcano with Two Craters. 

Manna Loa presents the curious feature of having two distinct and 
seemingly unconnected craters — one on the summit of the mountain, and 
another on its flanks, at a much lower level. This last is named Kirauea, 
and is perhaps the most remarkable volcanic crater in the world. It was 
visited by Mr. Ellis, a missionary to those parts, who has given an account 
of it in his missionary tour. The approach to it lies over a vast tract 
completely covered with old lava ; and Mr. Ellis describes his visit to it 
in the following terms : 

" The tract of lava resembles in appearance an inland sea, bounded by- 
distant mountains. Once it had certainly been in a fluid state, but 
appeared as if it had become suddenly petrified, or turned into a glassy- 
stone, while its agitated billows were rolling to and fro. Not only were 
the large swells and hollows distinctly marked, but in many places the 
surface of those billows was covered by a smaller ripple, like that observed 
on the surface of the sea at the springing up of a breeze, or the passing 
currents of air, which produce what the sailors call a cat's paw. After 
walking some distance over the ground, which in several places sounded 
hollow under our feet, we at length came to the edge of the great crater, 
where a spectacle sublime, and even appalling, presented itself before us. 

" Immediately before us yawned an immense gulf, in the form of a 
crescent, about two miles in length, from north-east to south-west ; nearly 
a mile in width, and apparently 800 feet deep. The bottom was covered 
with lava, and the south-western and northern parts of it were one vast 
flood of burning matter, in a state of terrific ebullition, rolling to and fro 
its fiery surges and flaming billows. Fifty-one conical islands, of varied 
form and size, containing as many craters, rise either round the edge, or 



468 



STORY OF HAWAII, 



from the surface of the burning lake ; twenty-two constantly emitted 
columns of grey smoke, or pyramids of brilliant flame ; and several of 
these at the same time vomited from their ignited mouths streams of lava, 
which rolled in blazing torrents down their black indented sides into the 
boiling mass below." 

This great crater was also visited by Messrs. Dana and Wilkes, of the 
United States' exploring expedition. They describe the light from the 
glowing lava to be so intense as to form rainbows on the passing rain- 




THE GRAND MAUNA LOA IN ACTION. 

clouds. The lava appears almost as liquid as water, and its surface is 
agitated by waves resembling those of the sea, and breaking, like them, 
upon the shore formed by the bordering terraces of solid lava. Sometimes 
they rise to a height of between sixty and seventy feet. The lava, thus 
tossed into the air, cools in its descent, and falls solidified on the surface 
of the molten lake, like pieces of broken ice. 

One peculiarity of this volcano is its tendency to throw out its lava 
in jets to an enormous height. The lava seems to be first forced up in 
the interior of the mountain, nearly to the top of the great crater; but, 
instead of overflowing its brim, it opens a passage through the sides of 



STORY OF HAWAII. 469 

the cone at a considerably lower elevation, so that the pressure of the 
liquid in the interior forces it from the orifice in a jet, whose height is in 
proportion to that of the inner column. 

The lava-jets thrown up from Mauna Loa, during a great eruption in 
1852, are estimated to have reached a height of 500 feet — those of some 
later eruptions double that height. The lava, as it ascends, is described 
as being white-hot; but, in its descent, it acquires a blood-red tint, and it 
comes down with a fearful noise. The quantities of lava ejected during 
some of the recent eruptions have been enormous. One stream is 
described as having traveled fifty miles, with an average breadth of three 
miles. A great stream, which burst forth from the side of the mountain 
in 1855, reached a distance of sixty miles from its source — burning its 
way through the forests, and advancing at the rate of about a mile 
in a fortnight, leaving a trail of devastation to mark its course. 

A Mountain of Fire Belching Flames. 

In 1859 this volcano was again in vigorous action, throwing up inter- 
mitting jets of lava to the estimated height of 800 or 1,000 feet. From 
this great fiery fountain, the lava flowed down in numerous streams, 
spreading over a width of five or six miles. One stream, probably formed 
by the junction of several smaller, attained a height of from twenty to 
twenty-five feet, and a breadth of about an eighth of a mile. Great stones 
were also thrown up along with the jet of lava, and the volume of smoke, 
composed probably of fine volcanic dust, is said to have risen to the height 
of 10,000 feet. 

An eruption, described as having been of still greater violence, took 
place in 1865, characterized by similar phenomena, particularly the throw- 
ing up of jets of lava. This fiery fountain is said to have continued to 
play without intermission for twent}'' days and nights, varying only as 
respects the height to which the jet arose, which is said to have ranged 
between 100 and 1,000 feet, the mean diameter of the jet being about 100 
feet. This eruption was accompanied by explosions so loud as to have 
been heard at a distance of fort}'' miles. A cone of about 300 feet in 
height, and about a mile in circumference, was accumulated round the 
orifice whence the jet ascended. It was composed of solid matters ejected 
with the lava, and it continued to glow like a furnace, notwithstanding its 
exposure to the air. The current of lava on this occasion flowed to a dis- 



470 STORY OF HAWAII. 

tance of thirty-five miles, burning its way through the forests, and filling 
the air with smoke and flames from the ignited timber. The glare, from 
the glowing lava and the burning trees together, was discernible by night 
at a distance of 200 miles from the island. 

In the early part of 3 887 Manna Loa was again in action, presenting 
startling spectacles similar to those just described. It is literally a mountain 
of fire, roaring and thundering, and belching out lurid flames and immense 
rivers of lava. This is one of the amazing phenomena which have so long 
rendered the group of the Hawaiian Islands an object of surpassing interest 
to the whole civilized world. Here we find one of the great breathing 
places of the inside world, that tremendous furnace upon which we 
live. What gigantic forces, what red hot, burning materials, what awful 
abysses of flame and fury this world of ours holds in its deep, mysterious 
and unknown recesses ! 

A Strange Superstition of Olden Times. 

In olden times the Hawaiians believed that in the terrible abode of 
Manna Loa dwelt their great goddess " Pel ," who sported with her attend- 
ant demons among the sulphurous waves. There is a curious deposit found 
in the crevices of the vast lava-hill below the crater, which is still called 
"Pele's hair." It is of a yellowish-brown color, like coarse spun glass. 
During an eruption, when the fire-fountains play to a great height, and 
the lava is thrown about in all directions, the wind catches it and blows it 
out in long thin threads, which stick to projecting points, and thus this 
curious-looking substance is formed. 

There have been many terrible earthquakes in Hawaii, some of which 
are remembered by the present inhabitants. In 1868 a series of earthquakes 
began in the month of March, becoming more frequent and startling from 
day to day, till, as one lady aptly expressed it, the island quivered like the 
lid of a boiling pot nearly all the time between the heavier shocks. The 
trembling was like that of a ship struck by a heavy wave. This state of 
things lasted for a week, and then came the climax on a lovely April day. 

The crust of the earth rose and sank like the sea in a storm ; rocks 
were rent, mountains fell, buildings and their contents were shattered, trees 
swa3^ed like reeds, animals were scared, and ran about demented ; men 
thought that the judgment had come. The earth opened in thousands of 
places, the roads in Hilo cracked open, horses and their riders and people 



I 



STORY OF HAWAII. 471 

afoot were thrown violently to the ground ; it seemed as if the rocky ribs 
of the mountains and the granite walls and pillars of the earth were 
breaking up. At Kilauea the shocks were as frequent as the ticking of a 
watch. In Kau, south of Hilo, there were three hundred shocks in one 
day. An avalanche of red earth burst from the mountain-side, throwing 
rocks high into the air, swallowing up houses, trees, men and animals; and 
traveling three miles in as many minutes, burying a hamlet with thirty-one 
inhabitants and five hundred cattle. 

The people of the valleys fled to the mountains, which themselves 
were splitting in all directions ; and collecting on an elevated spot, with the 
earth reeling under them, they spent the night in prayer and singing. 
Looking towards the shore, they saw it sink, and at the same moment a 
wave, whose height was estimated at from forty to sixty feet, hurled itself 
upon the coast and receded five times, destroying whole villages, and even 
strong stone houses \vitli a touch, engulfing forever forty-six people who had 
lingered too near the shore. 

Boiling Fountains of Lava. 

After this awful day the earthquakes still continued, and people putting 
their ears to the ground fancied they could hear the imprisoned lava sea 
rushing below. After traveling nnder ground for twenty miles, it burst 
forth with tremendous force. Four huge fountains boiled up, throwing crim- 
son lava, and rocks weighing many tons, to a height of one thousand feet. 

A gentleman, who was near the spot at the time, described the scene 
in these words: "From these great fountains to the sea flowed a rapid 
stream of red lava, rolling, rushing, and tumbling, like a swollen river, 
bearing along in its current large rocks that made the lava foam as it dashed 
down the precipice, and through the valley into the sea, surging and roaring 
throughout its length like a cataract, with a power and force perfectly 
indescribable. It was nothing less than a river of fire, eight hundred feet 
wide, and twenty deep, with a speed varying from ten to twent3^-five 
miles an hour.'' 

These descriptions are terrible enough. Considering the awful nature 
of the volcanic eruptions and earthquakes in Hawaii, however, the destruc- 
tion of human life does not seem to have been so great as one would 
have feared would be the case. There were many marvelous escapes 
from impending death. 



472 STORY OF HAWAII. 

It was at Hawaii tliat our great navigator, Captain Cook, met with his 
death — a circumstance as much deplored by the Sandwich Islanders of the 
present day as by his own countrymen. To Captain Cook is accorded the 
honor of having discovered these islands, but there are native traditions of 
much earlier white visitors, and there is no doubt that Spanish navigators 
landed there in the sixteenth century. However, our first authentic informa- 
tion about them was brought by Captain Cook, who, with his two ships, the 
"Resolution" and "Discovery," approached the two most westerly of the 
islands in January, 1778. 

Great was the amazement of the first natives who went to examine the 
ships at what they saw. In those days English seamen used to wear 
cocked hats; these the Sandwich Islanders thought were a part of their 
heads, and they described the visitors as having heads "horned like the 
moon." They stated, moreover, that they had fires burning at their mouths 
— no doubt meaning cigars — and that they took anything they wanted 
out of their bodies : such was the general idea conveyed by the civilized 
institution of pockets. 

The Natives Thought their Visitors were Gods. 

All these circumstances, combined with the strange language of the 
new-comers and the firing of some guns, made the natives come to the 
conclusion that their visitors were certainly gods. There was a belief in 
the islands at that time -that a certain much-honored god called " Lono " 
had sailed away in a fit of jealousy and a triangular canoe, having first 
prophesied that he would return in after times on an island bearing cocoa- 
nut trees, swine and dogs. Captain Cook's ships, so much larger than 
their own canoes and with tall masts, now appeared to the natives like 
floating islands with trees on them, and they made sure that " Lono " was 
returning to his own country. 

When Captain Cook landed they came to the conclusion that he must 
be the great god himself. They prostrated themselves before him, and 
brought everything they could collect in the way of food as offerings. 
Captain Cook does not seem to have discouraged the idea that he was a 
god. He felt that it insured the safety of himself and his crew, and for a 
fortnight the ships remained at the islands, all living in clover. Then 
they sailed away. 

Early the following year they returned, and Captain Cook landed, con- 



I 



STORY OF HAWAII. 473 

fident of another welcome on the western side of Hawaii. Here, his fame 
having spread from island to island, he was again received with divine 
honors, all the offerings the natives were accustomed to make to their gods 
being brought to him. The king visited him, and threw over him his own 
cloak, and presented him with pigs and fruit, concluding the interview by 
changing names with him — a ceremony which was considered the greatest 
possible sign of friendship and respect. 

For a time all went well, as before, but gradually doubts of the divine 
origin of the visitors began to rise in the native mind. One of them died 
and was buried : this showed him to be only mortal like themselves. They 
began to grudge the supplies for the ships which they had to produce. A 
quarrel arose between the natives and the seamen, and some of the latter 
were pelted with stones. Soon after this the ships set sail ; they were 
becalmed within sight of land for a day, and the king sent on board a 
parting present of pigs and vegetables. 

Captain Cook Assassinated. 

All might now have been well, but unhappily the ships encountered a 
heavy gale, and put back a week later into the Bay of Kealakeakua for 
repairs, and this time the welcome received by the Englishmen was not 
nearly as warm as before. Soon some thefts were committed b}^ natives 
visiting the ships, who could no longer resist stealing pieces of iron, for 
which the Pacific islanders in those days craved far more than for gold. 
Then some shots were fired from the " Discovery " at a canoe. This quar- 
rel was nominally made up, but soon after one of the " Discovery's " cut- 
ters moored to a buoy was stolen by a chief. 

Captain Cook was determined that this boat should be restored, and, 
trusting to the veneration in which he was held, he went on shore, with 
the intention of bringing the king back with him and keeping him as a 
hostage till the stolen property, so valuable to him, should be given back. 
The king, it appears, would have consented to this plan, and walked to the 
shore with Captain Cook ; but the islanders would not submit to what they 
considered not only a great indignity, but a great risk. They surrounded 
the king, and protested against his going on board the ships. His wife, 
too, entreated him to stay. 

While the king hesitated there came a cry that the foreigners had 
fired at a canoe and killed a chief. Then the natives began to arm them- 



474 STORY OF HAWAII. 

selves with clubs, stones and spears. The king sat down, and Captain 
Cook walked towards his boat. As he walked a native attacked him with 
a spear, and Captain Cook turned and shot him with his double-barreled 
gun. Stones were then thrown, and the • sailors in the boat, seeing this, 
fired on the people. 

Captain Cook tried to stop this, but the noise was so great that he 
could not make himself understood ; and meanwhile a chief approached 
from behind and stabbed him in the back. Captain Cook fell into the 
water and never spoke again. This is the Bnglish account of the death 
of the great navigator, as handed down from Captain King, his companion. 
The native account differs little from it, except in stating that the warrior- 
chief who attacked Captain Cook had no intention of killing him, still 
believing him to be the god " Lono " and immortal, but that, being struck, 
he gave a cry or groan, which dispelled the belief in his divinity, and the 
chief therefore killed him. 

The remains of Captain Cook were subsequently restored to his friends, 
and he was buried at sea — with what sad and awe-stricken feelings one can 
well imagine — and the exploring ships sailed away from the bay without 
the guiding spirit which had brought them there. The work of the great 
navigator was done, and he lay at rest in the bosom of the mighty ocean 
whose mysteries he had so long loved to unravel. The fame of his adven- 
tures has filled the world. 

For nearly a hundred years after Captain Cook's death the spot where 
he fell was only marked by a cocoa-nut stump set up on a bed of stones 
and broken lava, on which different visitors fixed sheets of copper with 
simple inscriptions recording the event. Within the last few years, how- 
ever, a more suitable monument has been erected by some of his fel- 
low-countrymen. 




CHAPTER XLII. 

COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

;OUTH AMERICA is a peninsula of triangular form. Its 
greatest length, from north to south, is 4,500 miles; its 
greatest breadth, 3,200, and it covers an area of 6,500,000 
square miles, about three-fourths of which lie between the 
tropics, and the other fourth in the temperate zone. The con- 
tinent is noted for its rivers, forests, mountains, minerals and arable soil. 

Venezuela. 

Columbus on his first voyage discovered the Paria coast on the 
31st of July, 1498. The next year the whole Venezuelan coast was 
skirted by Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci, and the name "Little Venice" 
was given to an Indian village built on piles (as is common) on the 
shores of Lake Maracaybo; this is the origin of "Venezuela," the name 
now of the whole country. 

In 1527 the territory of Coro was pledged by Charles V. to the 
Welsers of Augsburg, whose governors and adventurers had eyes and 
thoughts only for gold and the fabled El Dorado. In 1558 the Crown 
resumed possession; Caracas was founded in 15G7, and in 1578 became 
the seat of government. During the 17th century the attentions of the 
Crown were limited to extracting as much revenue from the colony as 
possible, while the people entered earnestly on agriculture and stock- 
raising in pursuit of a livelihood. 

But the next centur}?- saw the beginning of troubles. The government 
insisted on all trade being carried on with Spain alone, and ultimately 
with only one city — first Seville, then till 1778, Cadiz. Legitimate com- 
merce dwindled awa}^, and smuggling by the Dutch and English alone 
interfered to keep down the enormous prices of European goods. The 
first revolt occurred in 1749; other outbreaks kept the land in a ferment, 
until in 1810 the revolution began which ended with the independence of 
the country, and the withdrawal of the royal forces in 1821. 

475 



476 COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

From 1870 to 1877 the "Illustrious American," General Guzman 
Blanco, was first dictator and then president, and did much to rescue the 
country from its embarrassments. Joaquin Crespo is the present ruler. 
There has never been any agreement between Great Britain and Venezuela 
as to the boundary line between the latter country and British Guiana. 
The Venezuelan Government represented to ours at Washington that 
Great Britain was disposed to make encroachments and claim territory 
that did not by right belong to her. 

In December, 1895, President Cleveland sent a strong message to 
Congress on this subject, in which he took occasion to assert in very plain 
terms the Monroe Doctrine. The message was received . with great favor, 
and a commission of investigation was appointed by Congress. For a time 
there was loud talk of war between Great Britain and the United States, 
but wiser counsels prevailed, and Great Britain furnished the commission 
with all information in its possession which could be of service in reach- 
ing a just and equitable conclusion, satisfactory to all parties. 

Brazil. 

Along the sea coast and banks of some of the rivers, besides some 
extensive tracts in Minas-Geraes, the country has been brought under cul- 
tivation ; but by far the greater portion of the surface remains in a state 
of nature. The dense forests furnish almost every variety of useful and 
ornamental timber, more than one hundred species of palms, logwood, 
mahogany, Brazil and numerous other dye-woods, with sassafras, sarsa- 
parilla, ipecacuanha, and a great variety of other drugs. Cocoa is an indi- 
genous product ; maize, sugar, coffee, cotton, rice, wheat and tobacco, have 
been introduced by European culture. 

The animal as well as the vegetable products here present the greatest 
diversity. The diamond mines of Minas-Geraes are at present the most 
productive known. Other gems, and large quantities of gold, besides silver, 
copper, iron and platinum, are among the mineral riches of the same 
province. Manufactures in Brazil are confined to cotton-weaving, tanning, 
and the production of goods of primary necessity. 

Brazil was discovered on the 26th of January, 1500, by the Spaniards 
under Pinzon, one of the companions of Columbus. In the same year the 
Portuguese fitted out an expedition to follow up the successful discoveries 
of Vasco de Gama in the East, and finally took possession of the country 



COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 477 

in 1640. In 1808 the royal family of Portugal was expelled by the French 
and took refuge in Brazil, and the first act of Dom Joao VI., was to open 
Brazilian ports to foreign commerce. Other wise and liberal measures 
greatly stimulated the growth of the country. In 1822 he was succeeded 
by his son, who was proclaimed and crowned Emperor as Dom Pedro I. 
His reign, however, was not a fortunate one. Vexed with the opposition he 
encountered he abdicated in 1831 in favor of his eldest son Dom Pedro II. 
After a brief government by regencies, Dom Pedro II. was crowned in 
1840. He proved to be a wise and liberal ruler and was popular with his 
people until the revolutionary disturbances of 1895, when he fled to 
Europe, where he soon afterward died. The population of Brazil is 
14,000,000, and a good deal of enterprise is shown in developing the re- 
sources of the country and fostering foreign trade. 

Peru. 

Peru is, for the most part, of igneous formation and contains a number 
of active volcanoes, that of Omati being the principal. Earthquakes are 
frequent and violent. Lyiug off the coast near Callao are the Chincha 
Islands, which, with those of Guadafe and Macabo, 3deld guano in vast 
quantities. Agriculture is much neglected, although the land is productive 
of excellent coffee, cocoa, cotton ; besides drugs, tobacco, pimento, dyestuffs, 
etc. The chief articles of exports are, after guano, gold, silver, wine, 
sugar, quinine, wool, etc. 

When Pizarro, at the head of a small band of Spanish adventurers, 
first landed on the shores of Peru, 1532, he found it governed by sovereigns 
called Incas, who were looked up to by their subjects with awe and venera- 
tion ; and the inhabitants were distinguished for their mild and polished 
manners. But the avarice of their European conquerors led to scenes of 
blood and desolation ; the last Inca, Atahualpa, was put to death, and the 
Peruvians became the victims of the most unheard-of cruelties. 

After being for nearly three centuries a Spanish viceroyalty, Peru, in 
1821, along with the rest of Hispano- America, achieved its independence. 
In 1864 the Spaniards seized the Chincha Islands until Peru should make 
reparation for injuries inflicted upon Spanish subjects, and held them till 
1866, when Peru agreed to pay an indemnity of 60,000,000 reals. This 
treaty was not ratified, and an alliance entered into with Chili. After war 
for nearly three years, peace was restored in 1869 by the intervention of 



478 COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

the United States. In 1881 war broke ont between Peru and Chili, result- 
ing in the defeat of Peru, and the occupation of portions of the country 
by the Chilean army. 

On June 3, 1886, General Caceres, who had gallantly defended his 
country against the Chilians from first to last, became Constitutional Presi- 
dent of Peru. His policy was retrenchment and the protection of the 
Indian population. Payment of interest of the foreign debt had become 
impossible. General Caceres served his term of office, and was peacefully 
succeeded as President, on August 10, 1890, by Colonel Don Remijio Morales 
Bermudez. Peru is thus slowly recovering from the disastrous effects of a 
great calamity. The natural resources of the country are being developed, 
a greater interest is taken in public affairs, and with a more stable govern- 
ment, supported by the popular will, there is reason to predict a bright 

future for Peru. 

Chili. 

The backbone of this country is found in the Great Cordillerras of 
the Andes, here attaining an average height of 14,000 feet, many of whose 
peaks are volcanic, notably that of Aconcagua (the highest Andean summit), 
which has an altitude of 23,910 feet above the sea. The coast-line presents 
steep and rocky shores, broken into by some excellent harbors. The rivers 
and lagoons are so small as to be undeserving of mention. Climate 
health}^, taken, as a whole ; a scarcity of rain is, however, often felt. Earth- 
quakes are of common occurrence ; the last great shock doing much 
damage in 1868. 

Chili is one bed of metals : silver, gold, lead, and iron are found largely 
and worked; copper, however, is the principal resource of the national 
wealth, and is mined by Englishmen on an immense scale. Sulphur, anti- 
mony, zinc, manganese, alum, nitre, salt, coal, are other mineral items which 
influence a large exportation. The soil is of varying fertility, fattening 
most towards the south and the foothills of the Andes. Many hard woods 
are made useful instead of iron, and the fruits of the temperate zone thrive 
excellently. The Chilenos have thriven greatly since their emancipation 
from Spanish rule : the bulk of commercial transactions is carried on 
with Great Britain. 

Valparaiso is the chief port, Santiago is the capital ; Valdivia, Concep- 
cion, and Talca are among the largest and finest towns. The government 
is formed on the constitution of 1833, and consists of three departments — 



COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 479 

the executive, legislative and judicial. The first is in the hands of a presi- 
dent, whose tenure of office is five years ; the legislative consists of a Senate 
and Chamber of Deputies. The state religion is the Roman Catholic ; 
other religions are tolerated, but their public exercise is not allowed. Chili, 
before the Spanish irruption, belonged to the Incas of Peru ; in 1535-1540 
its whole extent, excepting only Araucania, was conquered by the lieuten- 
ants of Pizarro. It thenceforward became a Spanish colony, until 1817, 
when, after a seven years' war with Spain, the victory of Maypu, gained by 
General San Martin, secured the independence of the country. At present 
Chili is the most flourishing of all the Hispaoo-American republics. 

The temperature of Chili is remarkably even and pleasant, and always 
cool at nights. In the south it is dry for about eight months in the year, 
and rainy the other four. Vines grow well on the hillsides, and are a 
source of large income. The Andes are almost everywhere visible, covered 
with perpetual snow. There are many volcanic peaks, mostly extinct. 
Chili is subject to frequent shocks of earthquake, and occasionally to 
destructive tornadoes. The railway system of Chili is well developed, and 
in the northern provinces there are several mineral railways belonging to 
English companies. The Constitution of Chili is republican, and based 
upon that of the United States. 

United States of Oolonibia. 

Formerly known as New Granada, the United States of Colombia is 
one of the most progressive of the South American Republics. It lies in 
the extreme northwest angle of the continent. On the north is the Carib- 
bean Sea; on the northeast and east, Venezuela; on the southeast and 
south, Brazil and Ecuador; and on the west, the Pacific and Costa Rica. 
Its extreme length from north to south is 1,000 miles, and the extreme 
breadth from east to west, 760 ; on the Isthmus of Panama, however, the 
breadth is but 28 miles. It has an area estimated at from 480,000 to 
520,000 square miles. The population by the last census was 2,880,633. 
Of these, rather less than a million are whites, and about an equal number 
have a large admixture of Indian blood. The remainder are civilized 
Indians, mulattoes, savage Indians, and the various crosses between whites, 
Indians and negroes. 

The form of government established by the constitution of 1863 
resembles in many respects that of the United States. The president is 



480 COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

elected for two years. The Senate consists of three members from each of 
the States, and the Lower House of Delegates, from the several States, each 
sending a member for every 50,000 inhabitants. Each State has its own 
legislative and executive officer. 

Central America. 

Under the head of Central America the countries embraced are the 
Republics of Guatemala, San Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa 
Rica. They declared their independence September 21, 1821, and separated 
from the Mexican confederation July 21, 1823. The States made a treaty 
of union between themselves March 21, 1847. There has been among 
them since much anarchy and bloodshed, aggravated greatly by the irrup- 
tion of American filibusters under Kenny and Walker, 1854-5. 

In January, 1863, a war began between Guatemala (afterward joined 
by Nicaragua) and San Salvador (afterward supported by Honduras). The 
latter were defeated at Santa Rosa June 16th, and San Salvador was taken 
October 26th; the President of San Salvador, Barrios, fled, and Carrera, 
the dictator of Guatemala, became predominant over the confederacy. 
General Barrios, President of Guatemala, attempts the union of the five 
States, himself to be dictator, opposed by all except Honduras, February. 
He is defeated and killed in a prolonged battle at Chalchuapa, April 2d ; 
peace with the States signed April 16th, 1885. 



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